DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will give consideration to amending the electoral register to require individual registration; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Coalition programme for government set out our commitment to 'speeding up the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration' in Great Britain. This is exactly what the Government is doing with the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords. Electoral registers in Northern Ireland are compiled under a system of continuous registration whereby electors are individually registered.
	The Government has also published an implementation plan for the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, which is available on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/transition-individual-electoral-registration
	This document sets out the stages of implementation up to and beyond the December 2015 electoral register, which will be the first register entirely made up of individually registered electors, with the exception of some service voters.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on compliance with the Ministerial Code.

Nicholas Clegg: I have regular meetings with the Prime Minister on a wide range of issues in the course of government business.

TRANSPORT

A338

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress he has made on further improvements to the A338 Bournemouth spur road.

Norman Baker: Following the 2010 spending review, the Government announced in February 2011 that the A338 Bournemouth spur road scheme had not been selected for funding within this spending review period as Dorset county council’s bid was not competitive in terms of the local financial contribution offered. It will be for Dorset county council, as the responsible highway authority, to consider whether to progress this scheme using available funding such as the devolved funding for local authority major schemes which the Government will make available from 2015 or to bid for local authority pinch point funding recently announced in the autumn statement on 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82.

Blue Badge Scheme

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the reissuing of a blue badge to a young person with autism who is not eligible for the higher level of mobility allowance but has behaviour patterns which have previously been accepted as meeting the criteria for a blue badge; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport receives various items of correspondence from people with cognitive and mental impairments concerning Blue Badge eligibility. Members of the National Autism Society also responded to the Department's consultation on Personal Independence Payments and Blue Badges.
	The underlying eligibility rules of the Blue Badge scheme have not changed. Eligibility is not condition specific. Any person who does not receive the higher rate of mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance, or meet any of the other automatic qualifying criteria for a badge, may apply to their local authority to have their eligibility assessed. The governing Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 provide that a badge may be issued to someone who has “a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking”. It is for the relevant local authority to decide if an applicant meets the eligibility criteria. A badge should not be issued to someone who does not meet the eligibility criteria, irrespective of whether the applicant previously held a badge.

Bus Services: Disability

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to make disabled bus passes valid 24 hours a day and seven days a week in England.

Norman Baker: There are no plans to make bus passes for eligible disabled people valid at all times. The statutory England-wide bus travel concession gives eligible older and disabled people free local bus travel between 9.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on bank holidays. Extending the statutory period could create localised capacity issues at peak travel times and would have significant cost implications for local authorities. This does not prevent disabled passholders from travelling by bus at peak times, for example, to get to work, although they will have to pay the fare.
	Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) in England may offer additional discretionary travel concessions to their older and disabled residents, including free bus travel at all times, if they choose to do so. Such enhancements are not part of the statutory minimum and must be funded from an authority's own resources.
	The Department carried out a survey earlier this year which reported that at least 71 of the 89 TCAs outside London offered some form of extension to the available times for concessionary travel. In London the Freedom Pass gives a more generous concession regarding the available times and includes rail modes of transport. The latest statistics are published in ‘Concessionary Travel: England 2011/12 and 2012/13’ on the web site:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11840/concessionary-travel-statistics-2011-12-and-2012-13.pdf

Bus Services: Disability

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered providing a companion bus pass for those who accompany people with a disability bus pass.

Norman Baker: There are no plans to provide a statutory concessionary travel entitlement to companions of eligible disabled people. The categories of people entitled to the statutory England-wide bus travel concession are defined in legislation but it does not specify a particular category of person who might be regarded as a travel companion.
	Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) in England may offer additional discretionary travel concessions to their older and disabled residents, including free or reduced price bus travel for companions accompanying an eligible disabled person, if they choose to do so. Such enhancements are not part of the statutory minimum and must be funded from an authority's own resources.
	The Department carried out a survey earlier this year which reported that at least 57 of the 89 TCAs outside London offered free or reduced price travel to companions of their eligible disabled residents. The latest statistics are published in Concessionary Travel: England 2011/12 and 2012/13 on the web site:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11840/concessionary-travel-statistics-2011-12-and-2012-13.pdf

Bus Services: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much bus service operators grant was paid for bus services in London in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not available in this form or for the whole period requested. However, the following links provide information on payments made to individual operators for claims covering the periods up to (i) 31 March 2010 and (ii) 31 March 2011. These show the local authority area in which individual bus operators are registered, but this does not mean that the bus services to which these payments relate necessarily took place within the borders of that local authority:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110504135837/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/busgrants/bsog/661224
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3258/bsog-grants-paid-2011.pdf

Conditions of Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of staff in his Department have requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted.

Norman Baker: Part-time, job-share and other flexible working arrangements are agreed at local level by managers—we do not keep central records of how many requests are received and granted. However, the Department is committed to flexible working. We encourage our employees to consider alternative working patterns as we recognise both the individual and business benefits of this in terms of work/life balance and more flexible use of resources.

Driving: Licences

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licences have been renewed subject to an annual eye test in the last year for which information is available.

Stephen Hammond: In the financial year 2011-12, 1,206 driving licences were renewed following an annual eye test. These figures are for drivers who suffer from a visual condition only. It is not possible to identify drivers separately with multiple medical conditions that include a visual disorder.

Driving: Licences

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken to process an application for the re-instatement of a driving licence consequent upon restoration of eye sight is.

Stephen Hammond: During the financial year 2011-12, the average time taken to issue a driving licence in the circumstances described was 22 days following the receipt of an appropriate examination report.

East Coast Railway Line

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the conclusion of the British Chambers of Commerce transport priorities map published on 26 November 2012, what steps he is taking to address the time taken on the enhancement of the East Coast Mainline.

Simon Burns: The upgrading and enhancement of the East Coast Main Line is a key priority for the Government. A total of £428 million (in 2012-13 prices) is currently being invested in a series of schemes designed to improve capacity and performance on this critical route. These include capacity enhancements being delivered by Network Rail at Doncaster North, Peterborough, Hitchin and between Alexandra Palace and Finsbury Park in London. In addition significant works are underway to develop the capability of the GN/GE line from Peterborough to Doncaster designed to improve capacity and performance on the main line.
	The High Level Output Specification (HLOS) statement for the period from 2014 to 2019 contains a further £240 million of funding to Network Rail in order to continue this programme of capacity enhancement and further investment in power supplies to support the introduction of new Intercity Express trains and an enhanced timetable.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the case for the introduction of a congestion premium at Heathrow airport.

Simon Burns: Any decisions on matters concerning taxation are taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury. As such, the Department for Transport has made no assessment of the case for introducing a congestion premium at Heathrow.
	Last October, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published a research report, drawing on analysis commissioned from the Department for Transport, which includes analysis of a theoretical price increase to passengers using Heathrow airport. The research report is intended to provide evidence and improve understanding, not to make policy recommendations or assess the case for any particular options.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of flights arriving and departing London Heathrow airport had London as their origin or destination in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: In 2011, there were 476,000 air transport movements (arrivals and departures) at Heathrow. Information on the proportion of these that were transit flights is not held centrally.

London Midland

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conversations he or staff of his Department have had with officials from London Midland on levels of service and cancellations in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: I discussed levels of service and cancellations with London Midland's managing director on 23 October 2012. Departmental officials have been in daily contact with London Midland's management team, discussing service levels and cancellations, among other issues.
	The hon. Member may also wish to note the Written Ministerial Statement on this subject that was laid before the House on 20 December by the Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, columns 127-30WS.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned or evaluated on the effect on the number of motorway accidents of the placing of white chevrons on the road to encourage spacing of cars.

Stephen Hammond: Keep apart chevrons (vehicle separation markings) are in use across the motorway network in England. They have been shown to be useful at maintaining safe distances between vehicles where traffic is consistently travelling at, or about 70 mph. They have not been shown to be particularly effective where traffic changes their speed, either through lane changing near junctions or by congestion. This means that only a limited number of motorway have these markings.
	Research was completed in 2007 on the effect of vehicle separation markings and included an assessment of the changes in injury accidents at eight sites. The findings are set out as follows:
	On average, a small reduction in accident rates and accident frequencies in comparison with a control section, has been found to occur at the chevron sites.
	Extensive variability between sites has been found with, in some cases, an active disbenefit being demonstrated.
	In many cases, however, these findings on accidents are not statistically significant at the 5% level (due to the paucity of data available) and there is a heavy dependence on the exact criteria used to define the accidents involved in the analysis.
	There is some indication that chevrons may be used to target specific types of incidents and that this benefit may be more pronounced at low heavy goods vehicle rates, and for sites with less hour to hour flow variation during the course of the day.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what process is used to decide which motorways are painted with white chevrons to encourage the spacing of cars.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency is responsible for ensuring the strategic road network remains safe and serviceable. If there are concerns about a high volume of accidents caused by close following traffic, the installation of vehicle separation markings is an option that might be pursued. Vehicle separation markings (white chevrons) are prescribed for use on motorways only by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002, together with their associated traffic signs.
	The value for money of a scheme of this type would need to be assessed against other competing safety improvement proposals.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many miles of motorway were painted with white chevrons to encourage the spacing of cars in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much funding was allocated to painting white chevrons on motorways to encourage the spacing of cars in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: Since 1 January 2008 approximately 8.3 miles of motorway have been painted with white chevrons to remind drivers to keep a safe distance apart:
	2010—M5 between junctions 4a and 5 southbound (3 miles)
	2010—M6 between junctions 14 and 15 southbound (2 miles)
	2011-12—M2 between junctions 5 and 6 coastbound (3.3 miles).
	These are in addition to the 13 other sections of motorway that were painted with white chevrons prior to 2008.
	There is not a specific budget allocated for the painting of white chevrons for vehicle spacing. Information about the costs of specific sites is not held centrally. The cost would normally be included as part of a wider carriageway renewal scheme to provide value for money.
	The 13 other sections of motorway that have been painted with white chevrons, prior to 2008, are:
	M1 southbound between junctions 13 and 12
	M1 southbound between junctions 16 and 17
	M11 southbound between junctions 9 and 8
	M11 northbound between junctions 10 and 11
	M4 between junctions 16 and 17 in both directions
	M4 between junctions 18 and 19 in both directions
	M5 between junctions 11a and 12 in both directions
	M5 between junctions 22 (from the Services) and 21 in both directions
	M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in both directions— 0.12 miles were renewed in 2012(1)
	M6 between junctions 1 and 2 northbound
	M6 southbound between junctions 18 and 19—1.25 miles were renewed in 2011(1)
	M6 southbound between junctions 32 and 33
	M62 westbound between junctions 23 and 22.
	(1) Renewal costs are not available as they are met from supplier lump sum duties.

Railways: Bridges

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the efficacy of Network Rail in ensuring that railway bridges are repainted to avoid rusting.

Simon Burns: Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee. The repainting of its railway bridges is an operational matter for the company, in which Ministers have no powers to intervene. The independent Office of Rail Regulation oversees and monitors Network Rail's activities, and has an ongoing remit to investigate the effectiveness of the company's inspection and maintenance regime in relation to the structural condition of its bridge stock.

Railways: Harrow

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the highest load factor on trains from Harrow and Wealdstone to London Euston was on the nearest Monday to 31 March in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested.

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents were responded to by police in (a) the Lancashire police force area and (b) England in each of the last five years; and how many such accidents involved a fatality.

Stephen Hammond: The Department only collects information relating to personal injury accidents, and therefore does not include in its statistics damage-only accidents, or cases where a police officer attended an accident but did not report it.
	In each of the last five years, the number of reported personal injury accidents and the number of those accidents involving a fatality, where a police officer attended the scene and obtained report details, in (a) the Lancashire police force area, and (b) England, were as follows:
	
		
			 Reported number of personal injury accidents in the Lancashire police force area, and England, where a police officer attended the scene and obtained report details, 2007 to 2011 
			   Number of accidents 
			   2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Lancashire Fatal 51 70 48 44 41 
			  Total 5,247 4,961 4,704 4,437 4,072 
			        
			 England Fatal 2,280 1,936 1,715 1,431 1,491 
			  Total 128,947 119,034 115,531 110,033 108,895

Rolling Stock

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether all contracts for the delivery of new trains by 2015 will be delivered on time.

Simon Burns: The latest information held by the Department for Transport suggests that the delivery of new trains for London Midland, Transpennine Express and Southern is on, or ahead, of schedule. We are on target for the first delivery of new Thameslink rolling stock in 2015.

Transport for London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 195W, on Transport for London, how much funding his Department allocated for Transport for London (a) in total and (b) for capital investment in 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Pursuant to the answer provided on 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 195W, the amount of funding the Department allocated to the Greater London Authority Transport Grant for 2010-11 was as follows:
	
		
			 2010-11 
			  £ million 
			 GLA Transport Grant 2,772 
			 Note: Unlike funding from 2011-12 onwards the 2007 Spending Review Settlement did not distinguish between a General and Investment Grant. This figure does not include funding for Crossrail, payments made under the Bus Service Operators' Grant or funding for the East London Line.

TREASURY

Banks: Loans

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effects of the funding for lending programme on levels of net bank lending to (a) small and medium-sized businesses and (b) individuals in each month since its introduction.

Greg Clark: The Bank of England is publishing, for each institution participating in the FLS, the net quarterly flows of lending to UK households and firms. On 3 December, the Bank of England published data that showed that net lending by participating banks increased by £0.5 billion in the third quarter of 2012. This data will be updated on a quarterly basis. The Bank of England also publishes data on lending to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses in its “Trends in Lending” publication.

Business: East Yorkshire

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency and (b) East Yorkshire have received funding from the Funding for Lending scheme; and how much funding each such business will receive over the next year.

Greg Clark: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The Funding for Lending Scheme is aimed at boosting bank lending in aggregate across the UK. The Bank of England is publishing net lending data to UK households and businesses for each institution that has signed up to the scheme. Between July and September this year banks participating in the Funding for Lending Scheme have increased their net lending by £0.5 billion.

Child Benefit

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers will receive correspondence from HM Revenue and Customs in respect of the changes from January 2013 to child benefit entitlement.

David Gauke: Approximately 780,000 letters were sent to taxpayers affected by the high income child benefit charge.
	An individual’s entitlement to child benefit is not affected by the introduction of the high income child benefit charge. Underlying entitlement to child benefit will remain if an individual decides to stop receiving child benefit as a result of the charge.

Child Benefit

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of letters were sent by his Department to taxpayers regarding changes to child benefit by the beginning of each week in November and December 2012.

David Gauke: The high income child benefit charge letters which were sent is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Week commencing Number Percentage 
			 1 November 92,000 11.68 
			 5 November 200,000 25.39 
			 12 November 224,000 28.43 
			 19 November 241,000 30.58 
			 26 November 14,000 1.77 
			 3 December 17,000 2.15

Child Benefit

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers have been notified of their suspected liability for the high income child benefit charge in each parliamentary constituency.

David Gauke: An estimate of the number of letters received by taxpayers by the end of November by constituency was published in response to parliamentary question number 131585 on 4 December 2012:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121204/text/121204w0001.htm

Devolution: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he expects (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department to have assessed the effect on the Exchequer of implementing the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department have been tasked with assessing the effect on the Exchequer of implementing the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales;
	(3)  what (a) discussions, (b) meetings and (c) correspondence Ministers and officials in his Department have had on implementation of the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales in the last two months.

Danny Alexander: The Government announced in the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882, that it plans to issue an initial response to the Silk Commission in spring 2013.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of authorities as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
	There are no figures available for the number of HMT staff tasked with assessing the effect on the Exchequer of implementing the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales. This is because officials are deployed across a number of areas.

Employee Ownership

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assumptions he has made with respect to (a) take-up rates and (b) the average value of shares under employee owner status in each financial year to 2017-18;
	(2)  following his Department's consultation on employee owner status, what estimate he has made of the (a) proportion and (b) total number of employees making use of the scheme who are expected to make a capital gain over and above the annual exempt amount.

David Gauke: In autumn statement 2012, the Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) and a supplementary document, ‘Policy Costing’, detailing the assumptions and the uncertainties in estimating the Exchequer impact of employee shareholder status. Links are provided as follows:
	TIIN:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tiin/2012/tiin1008.htm
	Policy c ostings (page 27):
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2012_policy_costings.pdf
	As it is entirely new, predicting the take up of the new employment status is highly uncertain. It is broadly expected that 20,000 to 40,000 individuals a year may eventually benefit from the capital gains tax (CGT) exemption on disposal of the shares. This is fewer than the total take up because that will also include those whose expected capital gains are likely to be below the CGT Annual Exempt Amount (AEA). For those benefiting from the CGT exemption, the average value of shares is assumed to be above the midpoint of the £2,000 to £50,000 limits specified for the awards. No estimates of the proportion of employees benefitting from the CGT exemption are available.

Excise Duties: Beer

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the actual revenue generated by the beer duty escalator against predicted revenue; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he plans to make a decision on the future of the beer duty escalator.

Sajid Javid: Decisions on alcohol duty rates are made at Budget. A wide variety of factors are considered when the Government decides alcohol duty rates, including the public finances, the impact on business, receipts from alcohol duty, the likely impact on the illicit trade and the broader social impacts of taxation.
	Budget 2012 made no further changes to alcohol duties, beyond the increases designed and pre-announced by the previous Government.
	Information on actual and expected tax revenues is publically available. Forecasts for alcohol duty revenues are published twice-yearly by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR's most recent Economic and fiscal outlook, published alongside the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882, can be found online at:
	http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/December-2012-Economic-and-fiscal-outlook23423423.pdf
	Alcohol duty receipts are published online by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and are updated monthly. These can be found online on the HMRC website at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

Excise Duties: Beer

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the pub and brewery sector on the future of the beer duty escalator.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials engage with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Financial Services

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he has undertaken any analysis of the net present value of interest rate swap contracts involving small and medium-sized enterprises on the balance sheets of UK banks;
	(2)  if he will take steps with banks and credit ratings agencies to ensure that businesses that have suffered financially as a result of mis-sold interest rate swap agreements are not unfairly burdened with poor credit records as a result.

Greg Clark: holding answer 19 December 2012
	Treasury Ministers and officials carry out a wide range of analysis as part of their ongoing work on financial services. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such analysis.
	The Government would expect banks and credit reference agencies to ensure that businesses' credit records fairly reflect their credit history. This includes taking into account the impact on credit ratings of the mis-sale of an interest rate hedging product.

Health and Social Services: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what models his Department uses to make projections of (a) health and (b) social care spending; how those models are independently verified; what steps his Department has taken to ensure that it can model the whole health and social care system effects and interdependencies of different spending decisions in health and social care; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury draws on a range of sources for modelling and analysis of health and social care spending, including the Department of Health and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. The Government is of course committed to considering the full range of impacts of all spending decisions, including the implications for other public services. In recognition of the interdependences between the health and social care systems, in the 2010 spending review (Cm 7942, 2010) it was announced that the NHS would set aside funding rising to £1 billion by 2014-15 to help break down the long-standing barriers between health and social care. In ‘Caring for our future: reforming care and support’ (Cm 8378, 2012) it was announced that these funds would be increased by £100 million in 2013-14 and £200 million in 2014-15.

Income Tax

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the autumn statement, if he will review the target for raising the personal allowance limit from £10,000 per annum to £12,000 per annum.

David Gauke: holding answer 19 December 2012
	The Government believes the income tax system should give more support to those on low to middle incomes, rewarding the efforts of those who choose to work. This is why the coalition Government has committed to increasing the personal allowance to £10,000.
	Together the personal allowance increases announced by the Government in this Parliament will benefit 25 million individuals, and take 2.2 million working age people on low incomes out of income tax by April 2013.

Income Tax: Young People

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds living in the UK pay income tax at the (a) standard rate, (b) higher rate and (c) additional rate.

David Gauke: The information requested is shown in the following table for 2012-13.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			 Taxpayers aged 16 to 18 years old (1)  
			 Basic rate 78 
			 Higher rate (2)— 
			 Additional rate (2)— 
			   
			 UK population estimate (3) 2,250 
			 (1) These projections are based on the 2009-10 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) data projected in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s December 2012 economic and fiscal outlook. (2) Sample size too small to provide reliable estimates. (3) Office for National Statistics, 2010 mid year based population projections, adjusted to financial year estimates for individuals aged between 16 and 18 years of age. 
		
	
	ONS population estimates are at mid year whereas taxpayer estimates represent number of individuals with tax liabilities arising during the financial year.

Military Bases

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the autumn statement will have on his Department's ongoing Basing Review; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
	In the light of the new form of private finance and reductions in resource spending that were announced by the Chancellor in the autumn statement on 5 December 2012, I decided to postpone the announcement on future military basing until the new year to allow further funding options and opportunities to be explored.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 73W, on national insurance contributions: new businesses, when he expects claims for the 2011-12 tax year to have been processed.

David Gauke: The Government intends to publish a factsheet for the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday scheme in the first quarter of 2013. The factsheet will show registrations up to the end of 2012 and provide additional information for the 2011-12 tax year.

Northern Rock

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 562W, on Northern Rock, on which date (a) he and (b) officials in his Department were made aware of the probable remediation of interest charges for Northern Rock customers before the formal notification by UK Asset Resolution of its proposal.

Sajid Javid: As specified in the answer to the parliamentary question on 17 December 2012, the decision to remediate interest charges for Northern Rock Asset Management customers with Consumer Credit Act (CCA) regulated loans where the loan documentation is not compliant with CCA requirements was taken by the UKAR board on 5 December. Ministers were made aware of the proposal on the same day. The UKAR proposal was agreed by UKFI in a letter to UKAR on 10 December. UKFI sought and was granted Treasury approval on 10 December.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers were invited to join the PAYE real time information pilot from November.

David Gauke: 46,228 employers were invited to join the Real Time Information pilot from November 2012.

Staff

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the overall change in departmental staffing levels as a result of the Government's planned changes in departmental spending in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Danny Alexander: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published projections for general Government employment to 2017-18 as part of the December 2012 ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’. This can be found at:
	http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/December-2012-Economic-and-fiscal-outlook23423423.pdf
	However, the OBR does not provide a breakdown of the impact of individual policies on general Government employment, or of work force changes by Department.
	It is for individual employers to decide what would be the most cost-effective work force to enable them to deliver public services and live within their spending review settlements.

Stocks and Shares: Tax Allowances

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give consideration to allowing tax relief on share purchases in the context of management buy outs.

David Gauke: There are currently no plans to introduce tax reliefs on share purchases in the context of management buy-outs. The Government does, however, keep all areas of the tax system under review at all times.

Tax Avoidance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps his Department has taken to enable better detection of tax avoiders.

David Gauke: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) detects avoidance schemes through a variety of means including formal disclosure under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime. Users of disclosed schemes are identified by a combination of a reference number system and ‘client lists’ provided by the promoter of the scheme.
	The Government has announced on 3 December that measures enhancing the information DOTAS provides about avoidance schemes and users, including improvements to the client list system, will be implemented in 2013.

WALES

Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he plans to publish the costs of his legal challenge to the Welsh Government over the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill.

David Jones: The total costs are in the process of being finalised. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with these details when they are available.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Oliver Heald: The Law Officers meet regularly with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to review the effectiveness of the CPS, and information is also received from Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.
	During the last year, performance has improved overall against five performance measures, has been maintained in four, and declined in only one. In its two most recent reports, HMCPSI reported positively on the performance in CPS East of England, and to improvements made in CPS Nottinghamshire.

Olympic Games 2012

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in the Law Officers' Departments using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access.

Oliver Heald: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic games and will do so shortly.

Prosecutions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were brought against (a) UK nationals and (b) foreign nationals in (i) Northamptonshire and (ii) London in the last year for which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service maintains no central records of proceedings in respect of the nationality of defendants prosecuted. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally without incurring a disproportionate cost.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Communications Data Bill: Draft

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has produced an impact assessment of the draft Communications Data Bill for businesses based in the UK and for investment in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Home Office is the lead Department for the draft Communications Data Bill. Producing any impact assessment for the draft Bill is therefore a matter for them.

Credit: Interest Rates

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will direct the Office of Fair Trading to update its 2010 assessment of the profitability of payday lending; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Government will not make such direction at this time. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is currently conducting a review of the payday lending sector, investigating the extent to which lenders comply with the law and relevant guidance. The interim progress report published on 20 November 2012 uncovered non-compliance and poor practice. The OFT has therefore opened formal investigations into several payday lenders and is expecting to issue warnings to the majority of the 50 firms inspected that they risk enforcement action if they do not improve. They have also written to payday lenders and the relevant trade associations highlighting their emerging concerns.
	OFT will publish the final compliance review shortly, which will include some wider analysis of the sector. In this report, they expect to set out their view of what further improvements may be required by lenders to ensure full compliance. They will also consider whether other action may be necessary, including whether to make recommendations to the future Financial Conduct Authority, to Government or to industry code sponsors. In doing so, they will consider whether the problems identified are systemic in nature, affecting the market as a whole, rather than essentially ones relating to compliance by a proportion of individual firms.

Debts: Advisory Services

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to ensure individuals who are seeking support with their debt problems are able to distinguish between (a) commercial and (b) charitable providers offering (i) responsible and high-quality services and (ii) irresponsible and lower-quality services.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member for Huddersfield to the answer that I gave on 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 812W.

Employment Agencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spent the following sums on staff supplied by recruitment agencies:
	
		
			 2012 £ 
			 July 461,586 
			 August 406,034 
			 September 348,258 
			 October 388,573 
			 November 498,755 
			 December 463,968 
			 Total 2,567,174 
		
	
	In addition to salary costs and agency fees for the hire of temporary agency staff from recruitment agencies, these sums also include the cost of hiring of interim managers and may include recruitment fees where external recruitment has been conducted by an agency.

Employment Tribunals Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to prevent employers making trivial justifications for any potential breach of employment rights in employment tribunals.

Jo Swinson: While the Department is not able to prevent parties at an employment tribunal from making trivial justifications there are measures it is taking as part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to improve the ability of the tribunal to take actions against parties that make claims or responses that have little or no reasonable prospect of success.
	Current legislation allows tribunals to make a deposit order as a condition of pursuing a whole claim or response. The Government is taking forward the Underhill review of employment tribunal rules recommendation that tribunals should be able to apply a deposit award to individual parts of a claim or response. This is one of a wider package of measures which will help improve case management and deter both parties from pursuing weak elements of a claim or response. It will provide both parties with a clear sense of where they should focus their efforts and encourage a more realistic approach to settlement.

Export Credit Guarantees: Indonesia

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of Indonesia's sovereign debt currently owed to UK Export Finance was accrued through defence exports; and what defence exports are the source of such debt.

Michael Fallon: The debt was rescheduled into a number of agreements which also includes non-military debt. It is not possible to disaggregate the debt between military and non-military exports.

Higher Education: Scholarships

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the use of participation of local area quintiles in determining eligibility for the National Scholarship Programme.

David Willetts: The National Scholarship Programme (NSP) is designed to help students of all ages whose family income is no greater than £25,000 per annum. The minimum level for an award is set at £3,000 for each eligible full-time student. Institutions offer a range of support from a menu which includes tuition fee waivers or discounts, subsidised accommodation and other institutional support, and a cash bursary of up to £1,000.
	Higher education institutions set their own criteria for determining entitlement to an award from amongst the broad group of people whose family incomes are no greater than £25,000 per annum. Information from the independent evaluation shows that institutions are using a range of eligibility criteria for determining eligibility for an award. These include academic achievement, postcode of residence, attendance at a partner school, receipt of free school meals and/or whether the student belongs to a specific target group such as care leavers, first generation students or students with a disability.
	We have committed to review the NSP in light of feedback and the available evidence. To advise on the review we have reconvened the expert group who helped with the initial programme design.

Minimum Wage: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Low Pay Commission has examined the case for a higher level of minimum wage in London; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Low Pay Commission has not examined the case for a higher level of minimum wage in London.
	The Government’s aim is to have a national minimum wage rate that helps as many low-paid workers as possible, while making sure that we do not damage their employment prospects by setting it too high.
	In addition to the minimum wage, the Government is doing everything it can to help all working people on low pay with the cost of living. That is why we are taking 2.2 million people out of tax altogether and cutting income tax for those on low incomes. The personal allowance changes we are making mean that from April 2013, a person on the minimum wage working 29 hours a week will no longer pay income tax and someone working full time on the minimum wage will see their income tax bill cut in half.

Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: This information is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Redundancy

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consultation has taken place on reducing the redundancy notice period to 45 days; and if he will publish the consultation responses and evidence considered in informing that decision.

Jo Swinson: The Government conducted a Call for Evidence on the current collective redundancy consultation regime from November 2011 to January 2012. The Call for Evidence document set out fully the Government's understanding of the evidence base.
	Following this, the Government published a consultation document which set out the issues identified by the responses to the Call for Evidence and proposed a package of reforms. This was accompanied by an impact assessment which evaluated each of the proposed reforms. The consultation ran from June to September 2012.
	The Government Response, which set out a summary of the responses received to each consultation question, and a revised impact assessment, were published on 18 December 2012. The Government Response is clear about what was said by consultees on the question of 45 days.

Redundancy

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consultation he undertook on his plans to reduce the period of notice for redundancy; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: I believe this question refers to the recent Government announcement to reduce from 90 to 45 days the minimum period before which large scale redundancies of more than 100 can take place. It is important to be clear, however, that this is not the same as the individual notice period for redundancy. Individual notice periods will remain unaffected by this change. Individual notice periods start once redundancy notices have been issued, something which can only happen once the consultation on the redundancies is genuinely complete.
	The Government conducted a Call for Evidence on the current collective redundancy consultation regime from November 2011 to January 2012. Following this, the Government consulted on a package of reforms from June to September 2012. I announced the Government's Response in a written ministerial statement, on 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 80WS.

Redundancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, what criteria were applied when proposing reductions in the consultation period for collective redundancies.

Jo Swinson: The reforms to the collective redundancy rules are not part of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, but fall within the umbrella of the Government's ongoing Employment Law Review. As part of that, the Government concluded a Call for Evidence on the current collective redundancy regime in early 2012. Following a consideration of the responses to the Call for Evidence, the Government decided to pursue reform with three stated objectives:
	to improve consultation quality;
	to improve the ability of employers to respond to changing market conditions; and
	to balance the interests of the employees who are made redundant with those who remain.
	These objectives and the package of proposed reforms were set out in the consultation document published on 21 June 2012 and are the subject of the Government Response of 18 December 2012.

Redundancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consult further with trades unions and industry bodies on the proposals to reduce the consultation period for collective redundancies from 90 days to 45 or 30 days.

Jo Swinson: I have no plans for further consultation on this as the Government carried out a Call for Evidence from November 2011 to January 2012 and a consultation from June to September 2012. The Government Response of 18 December 2012 sets out the final decision.
	However, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) will be consulting trade unions and industry bodies as it prepares the new guidance on carrying out effective consultation on collective redundancies.

Redundancy Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Jo Swinson: The total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills between July and December 2012 was £238,491.
	The following table shows the amounts paid broken down by month:
	
		
			 2012 
			 Month Total redundancy payments (£) 
			 July 30,214 
			 August 146,086 
			 September 51,634 
			 October 0 
			 November 10,557 
			 December 0 
			 Total 238,491

Shops: Books

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of competition in the UK book retail industry; what advice he has taken from the Competition Commission on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: I have made no such assessment. As the UK’s independent competition authority, it is for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to assess competition issues.
	Last year, the OFT closed an investigation into whether arrangements that certain publishers had put in place with some retailers for the sale of e-books breached competition rules, as the European Commission was working to resolve the issue as a matter of priority. The Commission’s investigation has recently led to commitments from Apple and a number of publishers, available at:
	http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1367_en.htm
	The OFT has also considered the market for book retailing on a number of occasions in reviewing mergers in the market. The most recent such merger reviewed by the OFT was the acquisition of the Book Depository International Inc. by Amazon.com Inc. in 2011.

Speech Therapy

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new speech and language therapists qualified in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Daniel Poulter: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Department does not collect figures on the number of students qualifying in speech and language therapy. However, we do collect information on the number of training places commissioned each year.
	Strategic health authorities are responsible for commissioning speech and language therapy training places. The actual number of training places commissioned in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Speech and language therapy training commissions, 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Commissions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Speech and language therapists 804 782 749 
			 Source: Multi professional education and training quarterly monitoring returns. 
		
	
	2012-13 commissions will not be available until May 2013.

Students: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time students accessing student support from alternative providers received such support from each alternative provider in each of the last five academic years; and how much was paid to each such provider for such support.

David Willetts: I have placed a list in the Libraries of the House showing the number of full-time students studying at alternative providers and accessing tuition fee support in each of the last five academic years. The list also shows how much tuition fee loan was paid to providers in respect of those students.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the announcement by the Skills Funding Agency on 19 December 2012 that the 24+ Advanced Learning Loans Development Fund has received an additional £6.5 million of funding, how he intends this money to be spent; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The £6.5 million is part of the departmental 2012-13 financial year budget to support the set up of the 24+ Advanced Learning Loans system.
	The availability of the Development Fund was communicated to colleges and training organisations who received final loan facilities from the Skills Funding Agency on 19 December 2012. The fund will help those colleges and training organisations to implement their organisational plans to ensure they are prepared for the introduction of loans. We expect this to include their communications with learners and employers, to make sure they have the information that they need to prepare for loan applications from April 2013.

Temporary Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the transparency data containing this information which the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills publishes quarterly and which can be found on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=transparency- data&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department-for- business-innovation-skills&direction=before&date=2012-04-01
	Further information can also be found on the Office for National Statistics website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html

Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many temporary staff were recruited by his Department in each month from July to December 2012.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has employed the following number of temporary staff each month between July and December 2012.
	
		
			 Month in 2012 Number of temporary staff employed 
			 July 42 
			 August 32 
			 September 25 
			 October 32 
			 November 41 
			 December 29 
			 Total 201

CABINET OFFICE

Charities

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to work with charities to (a) improve fundraising and (b) enhance their impact.

Nick Hurd: Charities are being supported though initiatives like the £30 million Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund that helps local infrastructure services improve and support frontline civil society organisations more efficiently. This includes supporting organisations with fundraising and enhancing impact.
	We continue to support the Funding Central website:
	www.fundingcentral.org
	offering charities a free service to source funding streams and have funded a number of projects that support giving through our 'Innovation in Giving' fund. We are also working hard to encourage and support social investment as a new source of income for charities, including the creation of Big Society Capital, the first institution of its kind anywhere in the world. To benefit charities, improvements are being made to the Gift Aid framework and a consultation on Payroll Giving will be launched shortly.
	The Government also supports the charity sector's work to improve fundraising standards and practice through self-regulation by the Fundraising Standards Board.

Charities

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many charities were based in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in (i) December 2011 and (ii) December 2012; and what estimate he has made of the likely number of such charities in December 2013.

Nick Hurd: Data from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator shows there were 23,393 charities in Scotland in December 2011, and 23,605 in November 2012 (latest data available). Data is not available at the constituency or area level.
	Figures from the Charity Commission show there were 161,649 charities in England and Wales in December 2011, and 162,624 in September 2012 (latest data available).
	Data is not available to enable the Department to forecast future numbers of charities in Scotland or the UK.

Charities Act 2006

Marcus Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will review the workings of the Charities Act 2006 and bring forward specific proposals to define the issue of public benefit and religious organisations.

Nick Hurd: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 89W, to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr McCrea).

Childbirth

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many live births there were in the UK in (a) 2002 and (b) 2011, by local authority.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on how many live births there were in the UK in (a) 2002 and (b) 2011, by local authority. 134599
	Figures for live births have been compiled from birth registration data. The table links below show the number of live births by local authority for 2002 and 2011.
	For 2002 data see table 4-1a at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/kpvs/key-population-and-vital-statistics/no--29--2002-edition/key-population-and-vital-statistics-data-for-2002.zip
	For 2011 data see table 1a at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/births-by-area-of-usual-residence-of-mother--england-and-wales/2011/rt-area-2011.xls
	The 2011 figures for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom are provisional. Figures for England, Wales and Scotland are final.
	Figures for 2002 and 2011 are not directly comparable for some areas due to the changes in local authority boundaries over the period. Data are produced on boundaries in place during the reference year.

Cybercrime

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has held with the Ministry of Defence on attracting new civilian recruits to the Cyber Reserve.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office has had a number of discussions with the Ministry of Defence on this issue.
	As the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), announced in his written ministerial statement on the Cyber Security Strategy on 3 December 2012, Official Report, column 41WS, the Ministry of Defence is taking forward the development of a Cyber Reserve. The composition of this new element of the armed forces is currently in development and a detailed announcement will follow next year.

Dover House

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer from the Secretary of State for Scotland of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 774W, on Dover House, what the (a) costs incurred have been and (b) estimated cost is of building and associated work at Dover House to accommodate the office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Francis Maude: 70 Whitehall is undergoing a comprehensive modernisation programme, under plans agreed in 2007, and as a result parts of the building are not able to be used. The schedule now requires the 1st floor, where the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office is located, to be vacated. Costs of the work to refurbish Dover House will be published in the Cabinet Office's accounts in the usual way.

ICT

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to improve access to computers and the internet for (a) pensioners and (b) people from low-income backgrounds.

Nick Hurd: The Government is working with Go-ON:UK to build on and take forward the work started by Race Online 2012. Both the Government Digital Service (GDS) and Go-ON:UK are linked to the work of Martha Lane Fox, the UK Digital Champion, and her vision of making the UK a digital nation.

Immigration

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the additional cost of the delivery of those public services for which his Department is responsible arising from inward migration since 1997.

Nick Hurd: In the past there was no full estimate of the cost of delivering Government's services, let alone of the additional cost from the net migration since 1997.
	As such we do not have the specific estimates requested but we have published details of each of the Government's transactional services including the volume per annum. We are now working to estimate end-to-end transactional costs of the most widely-used services.

Immigration

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) percentage reduction and (b) population decline was in (i) overall net migration to the UK and (ii) applications for student visas to study in UK further and higher education institutions from overseas applicants in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your question to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) percentage reduction and (b) population decline was in (i) overall net migration to the UK and (ii) applications for student visas to study in UK further and higher education institutions from overseas applicants in the last year for which figures are available (135484).
	ONS estimates of overall net migration to the UK are for long term international migrants and adhere to the UN definition stating that a long-term migrant is a person who changes his or her country of usual residence for a period of at least a year. Net migration is calculated by subtracting emigration flows from immigration flows.
	Latest available data show that the percentage reduction in overall net migration to the UK between the year ending March 2011 and the year ending March 2012 was 24.6 per cent. The decline in overall net migration to the UK in this period was 60,000; from +242,000 in the year ending March 2011 to +183,000 in the year ending March 2012. These long-term international migration (LTIM) estimates are provisional for the year ending March 2012 and final for the year ending March 2011. The published tables of provisional LTIM estimates for the year ending March 2012 can be found here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-280887
	The Home Office advise that to apply for a student visa, individuals must use a confirmation of acceptance for studies from a sponsoring educational institution.
	The data available by education sector relates to use of certificates of acceptance for study in entry clearance visa applications under Tier 4, referred to below as sponsored visa applications.
	In the year ending September 2012, there were 211,001 sponsored visa applications (main applicants), a fall of 29% compared with the previous 12 months. This included an increase of 1% for the university sector (UK-based Higher Education Institutions, to 155,821), and a fall of 67%, in the further education sector (Tertiary, further education or other colleges to 32,900).
	The data are provided in the table in the accompanying spreadsheet.
	The data on sponsored visa applications by education sector is published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics (tables cs.07 and cs.07.q), a copy of which is available from the library of the House of Commons or from the Home Office's website at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	
		
			 Number of visa applicants for study (Tier 4) using sponsor acceptances, by education sector 
			  Year ending September :   
			 Education sector 2011 2012 Change Percentage change 
			 Total 295,345 211,001 84,344 -29 
			 Of which:     
			 UK-based Higher Education Institutions 154,575 155,821 1,246 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Tertiary, Further education or other colleges 99,296 32,900 -66,396 -67 
			 English language schools 15,930 3,748 -12,182 -76 
			 Independent schools 16,943 14,087 -2,856 -17 
			 Other 8,601 4,445 -4,156 -48 
			 Note: For definitions see notes in published table. Source: Immigration Statistics July-September 2012, Home Office, table cs.07.q

Life Expectancy: Merseyside

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what life expectancy at birth was in (a) Wirral South constituency, (b) Wirral and (c) Merseyside in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average life expectancy was in (a) Wirral South constituency, (b) Wirral and (c) Merseyside in each of the last five years (135287).
	Life expectancy figures for parliamentary constituencies are not readily available. However, figures are available for Wirral local authority and Merseyside metropolitan county.
	Life expectancy figures are calculated as three year rolling averages. The table below provides the period life expectancy at birth for males and females in Wirral local authority and Merseyside metropolitan county from the period 2000-2002 to 2008-2010 (the latest figures available).
	Period life expectancies at birth for males and females for all local authority districts, unitary authorities and counties in England and Wales, for rolling three-year periods from 1991-1993 to 2008-2010, are published on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/life-expec-at-birth-age-65/2004-06-to-2008-10/index.html
	
		
			 Life expectancy at birth for males and females in Wirral local authority and Merseyside metropolitan county, 2004 - 06 to 2008 - 10 (1, 2, 3) 
			  Years of life 
			 Area/period Male Female 
			 Wirral local authority   
			 2004-06 75.7 80.8 
			 2005-07 75.7 80.9 
			 2006-08 75.9 81.0 
			 2007-09 76.3 80.9 
			 2008-10 77.0 80.8 
			    
			 Merseyside met. county   
			 2004-06 75.1 79.8 
			 2005-07 75.2 80.0 
		
	
	
		
			 2006-08 75.6 80.2 
			 2007-09 75.9 80.4 
			 2008-10 76.2 80.6 
			 (1 )Period life expectancy at birth is an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. The figure reflects mortality among those living in the area in each time period, rather than mortality among those born in each area. It is not therefore the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives. (2 )Using boundaries as of October 2010 for all the years shown. (3 )Three year rolling averages, based on deaths registered in each year and mid-year population estimates. Source: Office for National Statistics

Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants are employed by his Department with salaries (a) lower than the living wage outside London and (b) lower than the London living wage inside London.

Francis Maude: None.

Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average annual salary for a (a) male and (b) female who works full-time is in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average annual salary for a (a) male and (b) female who works full-time is in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) England. 135395
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Annual levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year.
	The following table shows the median gross annual earnings for employee jobs in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) England for full-time males and full-time females, for the tax year ending 5 April 2012.
	
		
			 Median gross annual earnings for full-time males and full-time females (1)  in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) England, for the tax year ending 5 April 2012 
			 £ 
			  Barnsley Central constituency (2) South Yorkshire (3) England 
			 Full-time males *26,968 26,904 29,102 
		
	
	
		
			 Full-time females **21,044 20,913 23,321 
			 (1) Employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than one year. (2) Parliamentary constituency. (3) Metropolitan county. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. Key: CV<=5% * CV >5% and <= 10% ** CV >10% and <=20% X unreliable. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics.

Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants in his Department will receive a salary of more than £100,000 in 2012-13.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2012, Official Report, column 847W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab).
	Information on staff costs and staff numbers are also published in the annual report and accounts at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts
	As part of the transparency agenda, the Department also publishes an organogram and structure charts that includes information on senior staff and their salaries at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/structure-charts-cabinet-office
	and on:
	www.data.gov.uk
	The Cabinet Office recently published details of senior staff who earned a salary of £150,000 or more at 31 March 2012 at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/senior-civil-servants-high-earners-salaries
	and on:
	www.data.gov.uk

Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: In 2011-12 alone, through the work of Efficiency and Reform Group, Government Departments reduced their spend on consultancy by 85%, saving £1.035 billion compared to 2009-10. This is in addition to £870 million saved on consultancy in 2010-11.
	Cabinet Office's spend on consultants is available on the Department's website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts
	We do not hold information in the form requested but do publish details of contracts with a value of £10,000 or more on Contracts Finder. In addition we publish spend of over £25,000 on:
	http://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-co

Public Bodies: Thames Gateway

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) Government agencies and (b) quangos have relocated out of central London to the Thames Gateway regeneration area in the last 20 years.

Nick Hurd: Information for executive agencies is available in the List of Ministerial Responsibilities at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/government-ministers-and-responsibilities
	and some earlier information is available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
	Location information for non-departmental public bodies is available in the recently published Public Bodies 2012 at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/ndpb

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many teenage pregnancies there have been in each ward in the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
	Teenage conception data for the wards in England and Wales cannot be provided within the current ONS policy on protecting confidentiality for birth and death statistics, available at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/best-practice/disclosure-control-policy-for-birth-and-death-statistics/index.html
	Information on conceptions is routinely published for local authorities and strategic health authorities, and is available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/conception-statistics--england-and-wales/index.html
	Figures for teenage conceptions by wards are released under licence (authorised access to data that is not available to the public due to confidentiality) to Local Authorities in England to enable them to target early intervention services. Alternatively researchers may apply to ONS to become an approved researcher in order to access the data.
	ONS are currently working with the Department of Health to identify an appropriate statistical production method to allow the publication of teenage conception statistics at a more granular level than the current local authority-level statistics. We are aware there is an identified user need for such statistics.

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 159W, on teenage pregnancy, if he will list the 10 wards that had the highest (a) number and (b) rate of teenage pregnancy in the latest year for which figures are available without specifying those numbers or rates.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
	The latest available figures for teenage pregnancies {or conceptions) by ward are for the period 2008 to 2010. The following tables provide the ten wards where teenage pregnancy was highest for both (a) numbers and (b) rates.
	ONS do not publish the number and rate of teenage pregnancy by wards in order to protect the privacy of individuals. Two tables containing the 10 wards with the highest number, and rate, of teenage pregnancy is provided here since this does not pose a risk to confidentiality.
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of teenage conceptions (1)  in England and Wales, (2)  2008-10; ten highest ranked wards 
			 Rank Ward 
			 1 Longbridge 
			 2 King standing 
			 3 Orchard Park and Greenwood 
			 4 Shard End 
			 5 Fox Hollies 
			 6 Aspley 
			 7 Hodge Hill 
			 8 Aston 
			 9 City and Holbeck 
			 10 Richmond Hill 
			 (1) The number of conceptions of females aged 15 to 17 years. (2) Figures are based on boundaries as of 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2. Teenage conception rate (1)  in England and Wales, (2)  2008-10; ten highest ranked wards 
			 Rank Ward 
			 1 Nelson 
			 2 Cliftonville West 
			 3 Middlehaven 
			 4 Stranton 
			 5 Folkestone Harvey Central 
			 6 Rhyl West 
			 7 Plas Madoc 
			 8 Grosvenor 
			 9 Mancroft 
			 10 Victoria 
			 (1) Rates are calculated as the number of conceptions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. (2) Figures are based on boundaries as of 2011.

Vocational Guidance: Internet

Karen Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department has provided for the Plotr careers website; whether a tendering process was used to allocate the funding; and what the relationship is between the website and the National Careers Service website.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have each provided a grant of £350,000 to Plotr. This has been matched by industry donations. The Cabinet Office grants are made under the statutory authority provided by Section 70 of The Charities Act 2006. The grant from BIS was provided using Section 14 of the Education Act 2002. A tendering process was not used. Plotr will draw on specialist resources from a wide range of organisations and services, including the National Careers Service, from which it will draw information and data about occupations, skills and the labour market. Plotr has a broad aim—it is about inspiring young people and connecting them to all the opportunities available to them to make the most of their lives. The National Careers Service provides professional, independent advice on careers and learning.

Voluntary Work: Older People

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to encourage older people to volunteer in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Nick Hurd: The devolved Administrations have responsibility for volunteering.
	In general, the Cabinet Office recognises the wide range of skills and experience that older people can offer as volunteers. Several of the projects funded by the Department specifically aim to increase volunteering among older people. For example the Social Action Fund supports Community Service Volunteers to run “The Professionals”, a network of newly retired professionals giving time in their local communities.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel will remain in Afghanistan after 2014; and what tasks and roles they will perform.

Andrew Murrison: The UK and the international community are committed to Afghanistan for the long term. At May's NATO Summit at Chicago, ISAF nations confirmed that a new NATO-led mission will be established in Afghanistan after transition is completed at the end of 2014. This mission will be based on the principles of train, advise and assist and will not involve international troops deployed in a combat role.
	NATO is currently working to develop its post-2014 mission, which the UK as a NATO member, will support. Until that planning has matured, it remains premature to speculate what residual military presence the UK will have in Afghanistan after 2014 beyond our firm commitment as lead coalition partner at the new Afghan National Army Officer Academy.

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the preferred length is of the harmonisation period between tours of Afghanistan;
	(2)  how many service personnel have had less than the 18 month harmonisation period between tours of Afghanistan in each of the last three years.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The 'Harmony Guidelines' are used by the Army in particular to strike a balance between deployment, training and time with families. Current policy directs that where possible, an individual service person should not be away from home for more than 415 days in a rolling 30-month period. The 415-day period includes both training for a deployment and undertaking the deployment itself. Furthermore, it is policy for personnel to undertake only one six-month tour in each 24-month period. This principle is also used by the Naval Service and the RAF, but at slight variance to the Army. The Naval Service uses the metric of 660 days away in a rolling 36-month cycle and the RAF uses 280 days in a rolling 24-month period.
	Although not common practice there are occasions when personnel can deploy shortly after returning from one six-month deployment so long as they are not in breach of these guidelines. This practice generally only happens when an individual moves to a new unit which is due to deploy or has volunteered to undertake another tour. While this may occur in the Naval Service and Army, the RAF do not permit it. The information on such redeployments in each of the last three years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces Covenant

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to publish the annual Armed Forces Covenant report.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 602W, to the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Gemma Doyle).

Armed Forces: Cadets

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Cadet Force establishment is in (a) Sunderland and (b) County Durham in (i) schools and (ii) detachments.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The Sea Cadet, Army Cadet and Air Cadet units in Sunderland and County Durham do not have an establishment. However, the figures for the number of cadets in each area is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Cadet Force Number of cadets as at 18 December 2012 
			 Sunderland  
			 Army Cadet Force 151 
			 Air Training Corps 97 
			   
			 Co. Durham  
			 Army Cadet Force 481 
			 Air Training Corps 264 
		
	
	As at 18 December 2012, the Sea Cadets have 49 cadets within Sunderland and Co. Durham.
	Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) do have establishments. There are no CCFs in Sunderland and two in County Durham schools. Barnard Castle school and Durham school have establishments of 200 and 130 respectively.

Armed Forces: Freedom of Expression

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on freedom of speech for armed forces personnel who are opposed to same sex marriage of the case between Mr Adrian Smith and Trafford Housing Trust.

Mark Francois: All members of the armed forces are entitled to express their views on current issues privately, in the same way as any other citizen. This includes the use of social media sites to communicate opinions privately with colleagues, family and friends. However, to maintain that privacy the profile of the individual on the social media site should not reveal their status as a member of the armed forces, in order to avoid any perception that the view expressed was official policy.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which service accommodation buildings have been upgraded since May 2010; how much was spent on each such upgrade; and what work was undertaken in the upgrade;
	(2)  how many new (a) service accommodation buildings and (b) service accommodation homes have been (i) built and (ii) opened since May 2010.

Mark Francois: holding answer 10 December 2012
	The Service Family Accommodation (SFA) upgrade programme targets those properties in the greatest need and upgrades them to the highest standard for condition. Under this programme, in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, some 1,600 SFA properties were upgraded at a total cost of some £80 million. It is anticipated that 800 further properties will be upgraded in this financial year. In addition, some 600 new capital purchase and bulk-lease hired SFA properties have come into use since May 2010.
	The majority of new or upgraded Single Living Accommodation (SLA) is being delivered under Project SLAM and private finance initiatives (PFIs). Under Project SLAM some 4,715 bed-spaces have been delivered since May 2010 at a total cost of some £285 million. In the same period, some 4,790 bed-spaces have been delivered through PFIs. As SLA improvements are only one element of the work delivered under the PFIs, exact expenditure cannot be separately identified and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions his Department has had with internal or external groups on its redundancy policies and criteria for armed forces personnel since May 2010; and if he will provide the details of such discussions.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The conclusions of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, incorporating plans to reduce the size of the armed forces including through redundancy measures, have been extensively debated since 2010. The terms of the redundancy schemes are laid down in statute. Detailed internal work on redundancy policies and criteria has been conducted, and has included consultations with internal legal advisers.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the change in the level of lifetime income for each rank of service personnel who are made redundant within one year of their independent pension point.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The information is not held in the format requested. Every redundant service person will achieve a different level of lifetime income subject to future employment, health and lifespan. This will not be dependent upon their final rank in service. The Ministry of Defence is committed to helping those leaving the service to pursue a second, rewarding career if they wish to do so.

Armed Forces: Scotland

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the statement of 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 643, on defence transformation, what the projected increase in the number of uniformed personnel to be based in Scotland were in each of the three armed services at the time of the statement.

Andrew Murrison: The figure given in the statement of 18 July 2011 was a broad estimate based on the potential effect of the basing measures outlined. However, the composition of the projected change is dependent upon the outcome of a number of detailed pieces of work, including Army 2020 and the footprint strategy.

Armed Forces: Scotland

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many uniformed personnel are based in Scotland in each of the three armed services; whether the reduction to his Department's spending announced in the autumn statement will effect the number of uniformed personnel to be based in Scotland in each of the three armed services; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The numbers of regular service personnel based in Scotland as at 31 October 2012 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Royal Navy 4,670 
			 Army 3,190 
			 Royal Air Force 3,790 
		
	
	The autumn statement has introduced some additional factors that we need to take into account. It is right that we take time to explore these options with HM Treasury to ensure the best possible basing solution is achieved.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines his Department gives to the Royal Military Police on whether allegations of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault made by armed forces personnel should be referred to civilian police for investigation; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: There are no specific guidelines issued to the Service Police (the Royal Military Police, the Royal Navy Police and the Royal Air Force Police) on whether allegations of rape or sexual assault made by armed forces personnel should be referred to the civilian police for investigation. There is, however, a policing protocol between the Ministry of Defence Police, the Service Police and the Home Office Police Forces which outlines, among other things, arrangements for working relationships and provision for consultation and co-operation between them. One of the key principles underpinning these arrangements is that while there may be concurrent jurisdiction, local civilian forces have primacy.
	As a result, in the UK the civilian police deal with the vast majority of cases of rape or sexual assault allegedly involving a member of the armed forces. The Service Police investigate a relatively small number of cases. Decisions about which force should carry out an investigation are taken after consideration of factors such as the type of incident, jurisdiction, location, the availability of resources and the public interest. Where necessary, the prosecuting authorities are consulted.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an individual serving in the armed forces who makes an allegation of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault is able to raise this allegation beyond the normal chain of command and direct to the (i) Royal Military Police and (ii) civilian police; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2012, Official Report, column 896W.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines his Department provides to the Royal Military Police and the Service Prosecuting Authority on the definition of (a) sexual assault and (b) sexual harassment.

Mark Francois: The Royal Military Police, and their counterparts the Royal Navy Police and the Royal Air Force Police, are independent for the purpose of their investigations. The Service Prosecuting Authority is also independent and falls under the general superintendence of the Attorney-General. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not therefore advise the Royal Military Police or the Service Prosecuting Authority on the meaning of the offences they are investigating.
	Sexual assault is a criminal offence under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Sexual harassment is not a criminal offence in its own right. It is an employment law concept related to anti-discrimination. Criminal offences of harassment do exist but these do not need to involve sexual conduct, for example putting a person in fear of violence under section 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The Service police and Service Prosecuting Authority would only be involved if conduct amounting to sexual harassment also amounted to a possible criminal or disciplinary offence.
	General guidance for all MOD Service and civilian personnel about how to report and respond to harassment allegations are contained in Joint Service Publication 763, The MOD Harassment Complaints Procedure.

AWE

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of operating the Threat Reduction Division at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in each of the last five years.

Philip Dunne: The cost of the Threat Reduction Division at the Atomic Weapons Establishment undertaking its programme of work in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million (1) 
			 2008-09 14.8 
			 2009-10 19.0 
			 2010-11 19.3 
			 2011-12 28.8 
			 2012-13 (provisional)(2) 26.0 
			 (1) At outturn prices. (2) Comprises actual expenditure to date plus projected expenditure to 31 March 2013.

Dalgety Bay

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he expects the investigatory work on Dalgety Bay foreshore to be completed;
	(2)  on what date he expects remedial action work to start on Dalgety Bay foreshore.

Andrew Robathan: The site investigation element of the foreshore at Dalgety Bay was completed on 23 November 2012.
	It is for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, not the Ministry of Defence, to determine whether any remedial work is required at Dalgety Bay.

Defence Equipment and Support

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be able to bring forward detailed proposals on the future of Defence Equipment and Support and the Materiel Strategy.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is on track to make decisions on how it intends to proceed with the Materiel Strategy programme shortly. I will provide more information about the proposals when those decisions have been taken.

Defence: Exports

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 610W, on defence, if he will make it his policy to seek the inclusion within the work of the Defence Growth Partnership of issues around exportability of defence equipment and services; and how his Department will be represented in the work of the partnership.

Philip Dunne: I welcome the appointment of Steve Wadey as the industry co-chair of the Defence Growth Partnership. The Ministry of Defence will work with BIS and industry colleagues in identifying how the partnership might best remove barriers to growth and enhance the competitiveness of industry in meeting UK and export requirements for defence equipment and support.

Disclosure of Information

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2012, Official Report, column 722W, on disclosure of information, if he will publish the costs to the public purse of the inquiry into the unauthorised disclosure of the letter between the former Secretary of State and the Prime Minister which appeared in The Daily Telegraph on 28 September 2010.

Philip Hammond: There has been no net additional cost to the Ministry of Defence, as the work has been undertaken by staff as part of their official duties that are already resourced.

Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of staff in his Department have received training in equality and diversity, and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last three years.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence regards compliance with all Equality and Diversity (E&D) legislation as important and to that end mandates that all new civilian entrants must undertake E&D training within six months of joining, refreshed when appropriate. Military personnel are also required to undertake regular mandatory E&D training. All E&D courses have a module that covers the requirements set out in the Equality Act 2010.
	It is the responsibility of individual line managers to ensure that their staff have completed all mandatory training. We do not currently collate information on the total numbers of staff who have completed equality and diversity training in the Department.

France

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he or his officials have had with representatives of the French Government on the FASGW(H) missile programme; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (FASGW(H)) remains an important future capability for the UK and France. Ministry of Defence Ministers and officials have continued to hold regular meetings with the French Government to discuss the FASGW(H) programme. These include my own discussions with the French Defence Minister at Exercise CORSICAN LION in October 2012 and subsequent High Level Working Group meeting in Paris in November 2012.

Guided Weapons

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the potential benefits and costs of retro-fitting T4s with US MK41 vertical launch systems.

Philip Dunne: There is currently no requirement to fit Type 45 destroyers with the US Mk 41 vertical launch system.

Internet

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on (a) strategy and planning, (b) design and build, (c) hosting and infrastructure, (d) content provision and (e) testing and evaluation for his Department's websites in each of the last two years; and how much has been allocated for each such category of expenditure in 2012-13.

Mark Francois: From 2009-10, the costs of departmental websites have been published centrally in an annual report on central Government websites. The annual reports for 2010-11 and 2011-12, broken down by category as listed above, are available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/websitemetrics2010-11
	For financial year 2012-13, the information available to date is as follows:
	
		
			  Strategy and planning Design and build Hosting and infrastructure Content provision Testing and evaluation 
			 MOD corporate £0 £183,192 £70,000 £0 (1)— 
			 Royal Navy (RN) £61,000 £118,000 £232,000 £6,500 £23,000 
			 British Army(2) £0 £580,744 £80,360 £20,000 £41,492 
			 Royal Air Force (RAF) £0 £30,000 £59,500 £30,000 £13,180 
			 Defence Contracts Online (DCO) £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 
			 Defence Support Group (DSG) £0 £0 £621.55 £0 £0 
			 Service Children's Education (SCE) £0 £5,000 £0 £0 £0 
			 British Forces Germany (BFG) €3,500 £0 €75 £0 €3,000 
			 MOD Police Recruitment £0 £0 £96 £0 £0 
			 Military Aviation Authority (MAA)(3) n/a (4)— n/a (5)— n/a 
			 Queen's Harbour Master (QHM) £0 £4,500 £7,740 £0 £0 
			 Defence Science and Technology (www.science.mod.uk) £0 £0 £72,000 £0 £0 
			 Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) £6,670 £37,020 £8,902 £10,960 £23,580 
			 Veterans-UK £0 £0 £1,600 £0 £4,033 
			 Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers (SaBRE) (6)— £57,600 £57,000 (7)— (7)— 
			 Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN) £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 
			 UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO)(8) £24,426 £7,120 £446,353 £17,100 £7,120 
			 Defence imagery (9) £0 £0 £27,444.96 £0 £0 
			 RAF Air Cadets (10)£41,450 (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			       
			 Baha Mousa Inquiry (10)£6,000 (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Al-Sweady Public Inquiry (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Armed Forces Day (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 DNotice (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Service Complaints Commissioner (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Service Prosecuting Authority (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Military Aviation Authority (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 (1 )Included in design and build. (2) The Army website includes additional functionality not found in the RAF and Royal Navy websites. This includes an online job application tool and integrated online recruitment campaigning. (3) MAA is hosted on the Joint Server Farm. Only Design and build and Content provision costs are individually captured. Other costs are included in the £6,000 in the table above. (4) ( )£200 imagery, 1 x C2 full-time equivalent (FTE). (5) 0.5 x C2 FTE. (6) ( )These costs fall within relevant campaign/communication plans. (7) ( )Included in hosting and infrastructure. (8) UKHO currently has two external websites: www.ukho.gov.uk - meeting requirements as a Government Department www.admiralty.co.uk - commercial site enabling UKHO business (ie communication with customers) and promulgation of Safety of Life at Sea (ie users can download Notices to Mariners). (9) Defence Imagery was formed from the merger of the Defence Image database and Defence News Imagery. (10) ( )It is not possible to allocate costs to individual websites across the categories above. 
		
	
	A number of Defence websites are located on a central hosting platform, Joint Server Farm. Costs for this platform are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Strategy and Planning 0 
			 Design and Build 136,699 
			 Hosting and infrastructure 232,657 
			 Content provision 0 
			 Testing and evaluation (1)— 
			 (1 )Included in design and build.

ISTAR

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on ISTAR since the initial deadline for the Watchkeeper programme.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has a very large portfolio of capabilities, both in service and under development, that are classed as Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets. It is not possible to identify all expenditure on these capabilities since Watchkeeper's originally planned in-service date of September 2010.
	Delays to the Watchkeeper programme have not affected the spending on ISTAR assets, other than on Hermes 450, the unmanned air system procured under the urgent operational requirement process that Watchkeeper is due to replace. The cost to the Government of supporting Hermes 450 in Afghanistan since September 2010 has been £61.3 million. This has been funded from the net additional cost of Military Operations element of the Treasury Reserve, which would in any case have been drawn upon to support Watchkeeper had it deployed on time.

Katrice Lee

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of the meeting on 13 November 2012 on Royal Military Police premises between the Minister for the Armed Forces, representatives of the Royal Military Police, the hon. Member for Gosport and the mother and sister of Katrice Lee regarding the disappearance of Katrice Lee in November 1981; what action points arose from the meeting; what admissions were made by the Royal Military Police in respect of the initial investigation into Katrice Lee's disappearance; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: I wrote to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) on 20 December 2012 about this meeting and I will write to the hon. Member shortly as well.
	However, The Royal Military Police have now acknowledged that the previous investigations were flawed, and have sincerely apologised to Katrice's family for these failings. The Royal Military Police have also undertaken, at an appropriate point, to ask an independent civilian police force to review their findings.
	Substantive answer from Mark Francois to Iain Wright:
	As you know, I met with Mrs Sharon Lee on 13 December at Bulford to discuss the Royal Military Police's handling of their investigations into Katrice Lee's tragic disappearance from a NAAFI shopping complex in Paderborn, Germany in 1981. I am sorry that your Parliamentary commitments prevented you from joining us.
	At that meeting, Brigadier Bill Warren, the Provost Marshal (Army) acknowledged that the previous investigations were flawed. He has since written to your constituent, Mr Richard Lee, to sincerely apologise for these failings. In light of your considerable efforts on Mr Lee's behalf, I thought you would appreciate sight of this letter, a copy of which is attached.
	During the meeting, the Royal Military Police also discussed the current state of play on the work underway to better understand the actions taken by the police in 1981, and provided the family an opportunity to feed in their own thoughts and recollections from this period to the Senior Investigating Officer.
	Rightly, the current focus remains on the ongoing investigation, but as you are already aware, the Royal Military Police continue to consider in detail the conduct of the earlier investigations, and have also undertaken to ask an independent civilian police force to review their findings.
	Brigadier Bill Warren also undertook to provide a further update to the family in late Spring next year, probably around May.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost in each category of expenditure was of (a) RAF Leuchars, (b) HMNB Clyde, (c) RM Condor, (d) Headquarters 2nd Division, (e) Headquarters 51 Brigade, (f) Redford Barracks, (g) Dreghorn Barracks, (h) RAF Kinloss and (i) Fort George Barracks in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Francois: Information available on the cost of the MOD establishments listed is as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 2005-06     
			 RAF Leuchars 63.8 10.3 19.7 93.7 
			 RAF Kinloss 69.2 5.6 21.9 96.7 
			      
			 2006-07     
			 RAF Leuchars 64.7 9.8 19.4 93.9 
			 RAF Kinloss 66.6 4.5 20.6 91.7 
			      
			 2007-08     
			 RAF Leuchars(2) 60.2 8.9 20.7 89.8 
			 HMNB Clyde(2) 41.4 14.0 97.3 152.7 
			 RM Condor 21.8 2.3 0.5 24.6 
			 RAF Kinloss 61.5 5.0 20.6 87.1 
			      
			 2008-09     
			 RAF Leuchars 56.3 10.9 20.5 87.7 
			 HMNB Clyde(2) 40.6 17.3 93.8 151.7 
			 RM Condor 25.9 2.3 0.6 28.8 
			 Headquarters 2nd Division(3) 64.8 1.1 4.7 70.6 
			 Headquarters 51 Brigade(3) 18.4 0.1 3.9 22.4 
			 Redford Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			 Dreghorn Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			 RAF Kinloss 61.3 5.0 26.94 93.2 
			 Fort George Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			      
			 2009-10     
			 RAF Leuchars(5) 4.7 11.2 8.3 24.2 
			 HMNB Clyde(2) 39.2 17.96 97.5 154.6 
			 RM Condor 24.8 2.2 2.0 29.0 
			 Headquarters 2nd Division(3, 4) 66.3 1.3 4.5 72.1 
			 Headquarters 51 Brigade(3) 18.1 0.4 2.6 21.1 
			 Redford Barracks(3) (4)— 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Dreghorn Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			 RAF Kinloss(5) 6.7 4.3 17.4 28.4 
			 Fort George Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			      
			 2010-11     
			 RAF Leuchars(5) 4.6 5.8 13.2 23.6 
			 HMNB Clyde(2) 39.1 18.4 149.1 206.6 
			 RM Condor 23.6 3.1 0.7 27.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Headquarters 2nd Division(3, 4) 62.9 0 3.6 66.5 
			 Headquarters 51 Brigade(3) 21.4 0.6 0.5 22.5 
			 Redford Barracks(3) (4)— 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Dreghorn Barracks(3) (4)— 0.3 0 0.3 
			 RAF Kinloss(5) 6.5 4.1 3.8 14.4 
			 Fort George Barracks(3) (4)— 0.2 0 0.2 
			      
			 2011-12     
			 RAF Leuchars 41.9 9.2 11.0 62.1 
			 HMNB Clyde(2) 39.1 18.4 149.1 206.6 
			 RM Condor 26.3 5.6 0.7 32.6 
			 Headquarters 2nd Division(3, 4) 63.6 0 5.7 69.3 
			 Headquarters 51 Brigade(3) 18.5 0.2 4.2 22.9 
			 Redford Barracks(3) (4)— 2.1 0.2 2.3 
			 Dreghorn Barracks(3) (4)— 1.3 0.2 1.5 
			 RAF Kinloss 37.4 7.6 1.1 62.1 
			 Fort George Barracks(3) (4)— 0.7 0.2 0.9 
			 (1) Excludes the cost of service family accommodation which is provided on a regional basis and is not therefore attributed to individual establishments. (2 )The costs shown for HMNB Clyde include both of the base's constituent elements: the Naval Base at Faslane and the Royal Naval Armament Depot at Coulport (3 )These establishments are covered by a single contract for utilities and other services. The cost of this contract cannot be broken down by establishment, but the total value is around £9 million a year. This figure is not included in the table. (4 )The personnel costs of Redford Barracks, Dreghorn Barracks and Fort George Barracks are included in the costs of Headquarters 2nd Division. (5 )Service personnel pay costs are not attributable to establishment for RAF Leuchars and RAF Kinloss for 2009-10 and 2010-11. 
		
	
	Information on years before 2005-06 could be provided only at disproportionate cost since we are not required to retain this data for more than seven financial years, including the financial year in progress.
	The figures provided for 2011-12 represent the final outturn for that year and therefore update those I gave to the hon. Member in the answer I gave him on 17 September 2012, Official Report, columns 460-62W.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost in each category of expenditure was of (a) Glencorse Barracks, (b) Defence Munitions Centre Crombie, (c) Defence Munitions Centre Beith, (d) Defence Munitions Centre Glen Douglas, (e) HMS Gannet, (f) RNAD Coulport, (g) MOD Hebrides Ranges, (h) Cape Wrath Range, (i) Cameron Barracks Inverness, (j) Black Dog training area, (k) Ben Wyvis training area, (l) British Underwater Testing and Evaluation Centre, (m) BUTEC, (n) Loch Ewe fuel depot, (o) Remote Radar Head Benbecula, (p) RAF Saxa Vord, (q) Remote Radar Head Buchan, (r) Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (military), (s) Garelochead Defence training centre and oil fuel depot, (t) HMS Caledonia, (u) Rosyth Defence Estate, (v) West Freugh training ranges and (w) Castlelaw training area in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Francois: Information available on the cost of the MOD establishments listed is as follows:
	
		
			 2007-08 
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 Crombie Defence Munitions Centre 2.0 0.3 0.4 2.7 
			 Beith Defence Munitions Centre 11.2 1.6 1.9 14.7 
			 Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre 2.4 0.5 0.6 3.5 
			 HMS Gannet 1.3 1.3 0.9 3.5 
			 Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport(2) 8.9 3.3 1.9 14.1 
			 MOD Hebrides Ranges 2.8 11.8 2.8 17.4 
			 British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) 1.0 4.4 0.8 6.2 
			 Loch Ewe Fuel Depot 0.2 0 0 0.2 
			 Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot 0.5 0 0 0.5 
			 HMS Caledonia 1.3 1.5 0.2 3.0 
			 Rosyth Defence Estate 2.0 11.4 5.2 18.6 
			 West Freugh Training Ranges 0.7 0.6 0.6 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 Glencorse Barracks 0 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Crombie Defence Munitions Centre 2.8 n/a 0.4 3.2 
			 Beith Defence Munitions Centre 8.4 n/a 2.2 10.6 
			 Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre 2.7 n/a 0.6 3.3 
			 HMS Gannet 1.4 1.3 0.4 3.1 
			 Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport(2) 9.4 3.8 2.0 15.2 
			 MOD Hebrides Ranges 4.9 7.0 1.3 13.2 
			 British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) 2.9 3.9 0.9 7.7 
			 Loch Ewe Fuel Depot 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.5 
			 Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.8 
			 HMS Caledonia 1.4 1.6 0.3 3.3 
			 Rosyth Defence Estate 2.1 8.4 7.7 18.2 
			 West Freugh Training Ranges 0.7 0.9 0.1 1.7 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 Glencorse Barracks 0 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Crombie Defence Munitions Centre 2.4 0.5 0.2 3.1 
			 Beith Defence Munitions Centre 7.9 1.6 1.1 10.6 
			 Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre 2.5 0.3 0.2 3.0 
			 HMS Gannet 1.5 1.0 0.6 3.1 
			 Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport(2) 8.8 1.9 1.1 11.8 
			 MOD Hebrides Ranges 5.1 7.2 1.3 13.6 
			 British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) 3.0 3.4 1.0 7.4 
			 Loch Ewe Fuel Depot 0.2 0.1 0 0.3 
			 Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.8 
			 HMS Caledonia 1.5 1.8 0.3 3.6 
			 Rosyth Defence Estate 2.1 8.8 6.5 17.4 
		
	
	
		
			 West Freugh Training Ranges 0.8 1.0 0.1 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 Glencorse Barracks 0 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Crombie Defence Munitions Centre 2.2 0.5 0.4 3.1 
			 Beith Defence Munitions Centre 8.1 1.6 1.4 11.1 
			 Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre 2.5 0.4 0.5 3.4 
			 HMS Gannet 1.6 1.4 0.7 3.7 
			 Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport(2) 8.9 1.9 1.3 12.1 
			 MOD Hebrides Ranges 5.3 7.3 1.4 14.0 
			 British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) 3.1 2.4 1.0 6.5 
			 Loch Ewe Fuel Depot 0.2 0.1 0 0.3 
			 Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.8 
			 HMS Caledonia 1.5 1.3 0.3 3.1 
			 Rosyth Defence Estate 1.7 8.0 1.5 11.2 
			 West Freugh Training Ranges 0.8 1.0 0.1 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			 £ million 
			 Establishment Personnel Infrastructure (1) Other Total 
			 Glencorse Barracks 0 0.1 0 0.1 
			 Crombie Defence Munitions Centre 1.8 0.5 1.9 4.2 
			 Beith Defence Munitions Centre 6.9 1.1 0.4 8.4 
			 Glen Douglas Defence Munitions Centre 2.4 0.9 0.5 3.8 
			 HMS Gannet 1.5 0.6 0.8 2.9 
			 Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport(2) 9.1 2.2 2.3 13.6 
			 MOD Hebrides Ranges 5.4 7.5 1.4 14.3 
			 British Underwater Training and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) 3.2 2.4 1.0 6.6 
			 Loch Ewe Fuel Depot 0.2 0 0.1 0.3 
			 Garelochead Defence Fuel Depot 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.7 
			 HMS Caledonia n/a 4.9 n/a 4.9 
			 Rosyth Defence Estate 1.2 7.6 -0.1 8.7 
			 West Freugh Training Ranges 0.8 1.0 0.1 1.9 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Excludes the cost of Service Family Accommodation which is provided on a regional basis and is not therefore attributed to individual establishments. (2) The figures given represent that element of the cost for HM Naval Base Clyde attributable to its Royal Naval Armament Depot component. 
		
	
	Information for the remaining establishments, and for years before 2007-08, could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Financial information of this type is not required to be retained for more than seven financial years, including the financial year in progress.

National Security

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to produce a report on the implementation of the National Security Through Technology White Paper CM 8278, published in February 2012, on the anniversary of that paper’s publication.

Philip Dunne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) on 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 616W. Good progress is being made in implementing the recommendations of the National Security Through Technology White Paper (CM 8278).
	We do not intend to produce a formal report one year from publication of the White Paper, although we will use opportunities around the time of the anniversary to highlight key White Paper themes and progress in its implementation.

Porton Down

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 423W, on Porton Down: animal experiments, how many times the Animal Procedures Committee made visits to DSTL Porton Down in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Animal Procedures Committee (APC) routinely meets at the Home Office in London to consider relevant Home Office project licence applications. DSTL staff who are the project licence holders attend these meetings with the APC to answer any questions the Committee has on the conduct of the work before the licence application is approved.
	The Home Office inspector with responsibility for overseeing all animal work conducted at DSTL Porton Down routinely visits the site. These visits have taken place approximately once per month in each of the last three years. The Home Office inspector holds a site pass for DSTL Porton Down to allow access at any time, which DSTL fully supports.

Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much unallocated provision is projected within his Department's budget in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 13 December 2012
	The PR12 budget showed an unallocated provision of £481 million in 2012-13, £240 million in 2013-14, and £245 million in 2014-15. We propose to carry over £481 million from 2012-13, which, together with a contribution from the departmental unallocated provision in the subsequent two years, is sufficient to cover the reductions in the Defence resource budget announced in the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82.

Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on the welfare and housing of armed forces personnel of the reductions in his Department's spending of (a) £245 million in 2013-14 and (b) £490 million in 2014-15 announced in the autumn statement 2012.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 13 December 2012
	There will be no direct effect on the welfare and housing of armed forces personnel as a result of the reductions in the Department's budget announced at the autumn statement. However, those reductions and also the new mechanisms for accessing private capital finance announced at the same time by the Chancellor will need to be taken into account in finalising the Army Basing Strategy, which I hope to be in a position to announce early this year.

Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 174 December 2012, Official Report, column 623W, on public expenditure, how much unallocated provision there will be in his Department's budget for 2012-13.

Philip Hammond: The departmental unallocated provision in 2012-13 is around £500 million.

Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 623W, on public expenditure, from where his Department’s unallocated provision for 2012-13 has been found.

Philip Hammond: We decided in the 2012 planning round that it would be prudent to leave a portion of the Defence budget as unallocated to deal with unforeseen events. This provision is not therefore the result of specific savings measures.

RAF Lossiemouth

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate was made during the Basing Review of the cost to the public purse of triggering break clauses in private finance initiative contracts at RAF Lossiemouth; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The autumn statement has introduced some additional factors that we need to take into account such as new arrangements for accessing private finance. It is right that we take time to explore these options with HM Treasury to ensure the best possible basing solution is achieved.
	Until this is complete, it is premature to comment on detailed aspects of this work.

Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which units civil servants of his Department have been made redundant since May 2010.

Mark Francois: The following tables show the outflow of civil servants from the MOD since 2010 through redundancy or voluntary release, including the voluntary early release scheme (VERS) which has operated since 30 September 2011.
	
		
			 Voluntary release or redundancy—MOD Main 
			 Financial year : 2009-10 2011-11 2011-12 2012-13 to 1 October 2012 
			 Voluntary release or redundancy 400 180 40 30 
			 VERS — — 5,950 2,270 
		
	
	
		
			 Voluntary release or redundancy—Trading Funds 
			 Financial year 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 to 1 October 2012 
			 Voluntary release or redundancy 80 150 470 (1)— 
			 (1) Less than 10 
		
	
	Information pertaining to the exact units from which these personnel have left is available. However, in some cases, the number of individuals is low enough to constitute a risk of identification, particularly if considered in parallel with other data; this information is therefore being withheld.

Reserve Forces

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if provision will be made for members of the Army Reserve, following the introduction of the Army 2020 reforms, to claim back the expense incurred in travelling to training facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Eligibility for reserve personnel to reclaim the cost of travel to training facilities or other duty stations is determined by the terms of their engagement. Volunteer reserves are already eligible to reclaim the cost of home to duty travel up to a distance of fifty miles per single journey, although provision exists for commanding officers to authorise home to duty travel for greater distances as appropriate.
	Under Future Reserves 2020, with respect to allowances, we are considering a number of specific options and these will be subject to review and recommendation by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. A balanced remuneration package will be developed and provided as part of Defence's new employment model. This will include an integrated approach to pay and allowances to achieve closer alignment between regular and reserve conditions of service.

Service Prosecuting Authority

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will extend the length of time that officers are deployed for duty in the Service Prosecuting Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: There are no current plans to extend the length of time that officers are assigned for duty in the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA). The length of time officers are assigned to the SPA is variable, and reflects the requirement both for individual career development and for a worthwhile period of service. All officers who are assigned to the SPA receive appropriate training to provide them with the right level of prosecuting and advocacy skills.

Sodexo

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  following the reporting of faulty kitchen equipment by Army garrison personnel, in what period of time Sodexo were contractually obliged to (a) inspect the equipment, (b) carry out required maintenance and (c) replace the units in Army garrisons; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many items of kitchen equipment in Army garrisons have (a) been referred for maintenance and (b) been replaced in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: Facilities management services to Army sites in the UK are carried out under a series of contracts by a number of companies, including Sodexo.
	Information on how many items of kitchen equipment have been maintained or replaced in each of the last three years, or the contractual arrangements for Sodexo to inspect, maintain and replace kitchen units is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Tankers

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the final cost of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Project's order for four specialist tankers from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering; and whether the current estimated cost of the project differs from previous estimates.

Philip Dunne: The approved budget for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Tanker project, which includes both the contract cost for the design and build of the four ships by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) and the further customisation package is £596 million.
	The value of the contract for the design and build of the four ships is currently £458 million which represents an increase of £6 million since the award of the contract on 9 March 2012 was announced. This increase in contract value, which does not affect the overall project cost, is as a result of the addition of essential health and safety as well as environmental features and operability changes that will provide long-term efficiencies.
	The remaining approved budget for the project covers additional activities required to bring the ships into service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. These activities include a customisation package of work, to take place in the UK after the MARS tankers have been built, that will provide essential classified features required for deployment and capability assessment trials.

Translation Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average salary paid to UK translators and interpreters is.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	Translators and interpreters in the Ministry of Defence are engaged as fee earners and paid on a fee paying basis. The average daily rate is £352.78.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Watchkeepers are on order from his Department to replace the Hermes 450;
	(2)  what the estimated cost to the public purse is of the Watchkeeper programme in each of the next three years;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to speed up the certification process of the Watchkeeper programme.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is procuring 15 Watchkeeper ground control stations and 54 air vehicles. The estimated cost of the Watchkeeper equipment and support programmes combined in each of the next three financial years is £73 million, £59 million and £28 million respectively.
	The release-to-service process, including airworthiness certification, is taking longer than originally expected. The MOD and Thales UK are working closely together to expedite the process. As the first large unmanned air system to fly in UK airspace, Watchkeeper is breaking new ground and it is essential that the process is thorough.

Veterans

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time taken by the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force was to verify the past service of individuals to charities assisting veterans in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not maintain statistics specifically in relation to requests for information received from charities assisting veterans.

Veterans

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of likely changes in demand in the next 12 months for services provided by armed forces charities which give advice to Afghanistan veterans.

Mark Francois: We continue to greatly appreciate the work done by the service charities in support of both our current and former armed forces personnel and their families. We have made no formal assessment of the type described by the hon. Member, but we maintain a close dialogue with the voluntary and charitable sector on these matters.

Veterans

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what support his Department provides to armed forces charities which give advice and emergency financial support to Afghanistan veterans;
	(2)  whether his Department plans to provide additional support to armed forces charities which give emergency financial aid to Afghanistan veterans.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence works in partnership with a range of charities providing support to serving and former members of the armed forces, including Afghanistan veterans. The extent of partnership working depends upon the individual charities involved.

Veterans

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2012, Official Report, columns 172-3W, on veterans, when he expects Lord Ashcroft to report on how the Government can further support those leaving the armed forces.

Mark Francois: It is expected that Lord Ashcroft will produce an interim report to the Secretary of State for Defence by the end of 2013, with more comprehensive recommendations being made during 2014.

World War II: Military Decorations

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for York Central of 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 609W, on Arctic Convoy veterans, when his Department plans to announce the outcome of Sir John Holmes' review on military medals, with regard to the Arctic Convoy veterans.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The Prime Minister announced on 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 841, that the Government has accepted the recommendation of Sir John Holmes' review that a medal should be awarded to veterans who saw active service on the Arctic Convoys.

World War II: Military Decorations

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that the Arctic Convoy Star medal and Bomber Command clasp can be claimed posthumously by next of kin.

Mark Francois: The eligibility criteria for the Arctic Convoy medal and Bomber Command clasp are currently being drawn up. An announcement will be made as soon as this work is completed.

EDUCATION

Bookstart Scheme

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding he plans to provide to the Bookstart programme in 2013-14.

Elizabeth Truss: Grant funding for Booktrust has been approved for the next two years (2013-14 and 2014-15) with a grant of £6 million per annum to provide a new book gifting programme including Bookstart.

Booktrust

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much in grants has been awarded to Book Trust by his Department since May 2010; over what period such funding has been allocated; and from what budgets.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 December 2012
	The following table sets out the grant funding allocated to Booktrust by the Department for book gifting from the families group programme funding budget.
	
		
			 Grant funding allocation 
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2010-11 13 
			 2011-12 7.5 
			 2012-13 6 
		
	
	The Department is currently in discussion with Booktrust about the shape of the book gifting scheme they will deliver for the £6/6 million grant funding that they have been offered for 2013-15.
	In addition in 2010-11 they received a grant of £150,000 for the Everybody Writes Project, which was paid from the Standards in English budget.

Care Proceedings: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children have been the subject of new care proceedings in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: Information on the number of children who have been the subject of new care proceedings is not available.
	The Department does collect information on the number of looked after children who became subject to a care order or placement order. The number of these children for the local authorities, (a) Suffolk, (b) (i) Bedford Borough, (b)(ii) Central Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire, and (f) Norfolk is shown in the following table. Information is shown for the last three years.
	Information on the number of children for whom an application has been made to the courts for either a care order or placement order, but where the application has not been granted, is not available.
	
		
			 Children who became subject to a placement order or a care order during the year ending 31 March, by local authority (1) . Years ending 31 March 2010 to 2012. Coverage: local authorities listed 
			 Number 
			  Placement order (2) Care order 
			  2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 
			 England 3,160 3,870 4,240 14,480 15,690 16,760 
			        
			 Bedford borough(3) 10 10 10 30 40 65 
			 Central Bedfordshire(3) 0 (4)— (4)— 30 40 60 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 35 30 80 75 115 
			 Essex 75 85 75 275 300 315 
			 Hertfordshire 35 50 55 210 235 245 
			 Norfolk 45 65 65 . 120 155 205 
			 Suffolk 55 80 65 200 210 205 
			 (1) England totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. Other numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. (2) Some looked after children who have become subject to a placement order will previously have been the subject of a care order. (3) In 2009 Bedfordshire LA split into Bedford borough and Central Bedfordshire. (4) Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. Source: SSDA903

Children in Care

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department has taken to address barriers to Ofsted sharing information on the names and locations of children's homes with local police forces.

David Laws: We are currently consulting on proposals to enable Ofsted to share its register of the names of addresses of children's homes, on a monthly basis, with the police and the Office and the Children's Commissioner. Ofsted is already able to share the information with local authorities.

Children in Care

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) primary, other than small primary, and (b) secondary schools in each local authority had more than three per cent of pupils in care in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Timpson: For the year ending 31 March 2012, there were 53 state-funded mainstream primary schools and two state-funded mainstream secondary schools with more than 3% of pupils looked-after.
	The table shows the local authorities where these schools are located.
	To answer the question fully, small primary schools with fewer than 100 pupils on roll have been excluded from the figures.
	
		
			 Number of maintained primary and secondary schools (1, 2 ) where more than 3% of pupils are looked-after children (3, 4, ) by local authority 
			 Year: 2012 
			 Local authority Number of schools 
			 Birmingham 1 Primary 
			 Blackburn with Darwin 1 Primary 
			 Bolton 1 Primary 
			 Buckinghamshire 1 Primary 
			 Calderdale 1 Primary 
			 Cheshire East 1 Primary 
			 Cheshire West & Chester 1 Primary 
			 Cornwall 1 Primary 
			 Coventry 1 Primary 
			 Darlington 1 Primary 
			 Derbyshire 1 Primary 
			 Durham 1 Primary 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1 Primary 
			 East Sussex 1 Primary 
			 Essex 1 Primary 
			 Gloucestershire 1 Primary 
			 Hertfordshire 1 Primary 
			 Kent 5 Primary, 1 Secondary 
			 Kingston Upon Hull 1 Primary 
			 Kirklees 1 Primary 
			 Knowsley 1 Primary 
			 Lancashire 2 Primary 
			 Leeds 1 Primary 
			 Leicestershire 1 Primary 
			 Liverpool 1 Primary 
			 Luton 1 Secondary 
			 Medway Towns 3 Primary 
			 Milton Keynes 1 Primary 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 1 Primary 
		
	
	
		
			 North Yorkshire 1 Primary 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 Primary 
			 Oldham 2 Primary 
			 Rochdale 1 Primary 
			 Salford 1 Primary 
			 Sefton 2 Primary 
			 South Tyneside 1 Primary 
			 Staffordshire 2 Primary 
			 Stockport 1 Primary 
			 Surrey 1 Primary 
			 Tameside 1 Primary 
			 Warrington 1 Primary 
			 West Sussex 1 Primary 
			 Wirral 1 Primary 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Based on children looked-after continuously for at least six months at 31 March 2012, matched to their school census return for January 2012. (4) Based on the child's latest episode of care during the year ending 31 March 2012.

Children: Abuse

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2012, Official Report, column 619W, on children: abuse, if the survey to be conducted by Ofsted on safeguarding in outstanding schools will include face to face interviews with pupils in these schools.

Edward Timpson: Ofsted has not yet determined the precise methodology for this survey. We will be discussing with Ofsted how best to gather the views of pupils as part of this study.

Children: Disability

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements he has made to ensure that each service listed in a local offer is sufficient to meet the needs of local disabled children and their families.

Edward Timpson: The Government published draft legislative provisions for special educational needs in September 2012, including proposals for local authorities in England to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those who are disabled. We anticipate that in many cases this would cover services that are accessed by both disabled children and young people with and without SEN. The local offer would enable families to see readily what they can expect from mainstream services across education, health and social care; how to access more specialist support; how decisions are made including eligibility criteria for accessing services, where appropriate; and how to complain or appeal.
	Local authorities would be required to involve local children, young people and families in developing their local offer to take account of their needs and aspirations. Each service would be accountable for delivering what is set out in the local offer and if families are unhappy with what they receive or what is available they would be able to take this up with those services.
	The draft special educational needs provisions are being scrutinised by the Education Select Committee. The Government will give careful consideration to the Committee's report when framing the legislation for introduction to Parliament.

Children: Disability

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of families with disabled children who cannot access local services; and if he will bring forward proposals to assist such families to access such services.

Edward Timpson: No such recent estimate has been made. Initiatives by Government have aimed to increase the access of disabled children and their families to services. For example, during a period of Government support, the number of disabled children receiving short breaks rose from 57,383 in 2008-09 to 162,831 in 2010-11—an increase of over 105,000 children. Between 2011-12 and 2014-15 the Government is making available £800 million to local authorities in un-ringfenced grants for short breaks services.
	Under the Equality Act 2010 all providers of public services must not discriminate against disabled people when offering their services, such as in respect of the terms the services are offered, and must also have due regard to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations among protected groups such as disabled people.

Children: Protection

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to improve (a) child protection procedures in school and (b) co-operation between schools and local authority childrens’ services; and when he intends to appoint a lead officer on child protection in his Department.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 20 December 2012
	We plan shortly to consult on updated statutory guidance for schools on safeguarding generally, “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education”. As well as giving advice on child protection arrangements, the guidance recommends that all schools should work closely with local authorities and others as part of their local safeguarding children board (LSCB) inter-agency safeguarding procedures. We also consulted in the summer on revising “Working Together to Safeguard Children” statutory guidance which sets out clearly the child protection responsibilities of all agencies including schools, and we will publish this shortly. Setting a strong policy on child protection is a priority for this Department: we have clear lines of accountability from lead officials working on child protection and safeguarding to the permanent secretary. In addition, we hope to appoint two chief social workers early this year.

Children's Centres

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what change there has been in the number of Sure Start children's centres in each local authority area since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows the breakdown of children's centre numbers by local authority at April 2010 and at 13 November 2012. The table is based on information supplied by local authorities.
	In April 2010 there were 3,631 children's centres. On 13 November 2012 the reduction of 401 since April 2010, includes only 25 which were outright closures (data as at 13 November 2012). The further 376 of the reduction in number has been as a result of reorganisations including the merging of two or more centres.
	
		
			 Region Local authority Number of designated children's centres at 30 April 2010 Number of designated children's centres at 13 November 2012 
			 LON Barking and Dagenham 18 12 
			 LON Barnet 20 13 
			 YH Barnsley 19 19 
			 SW Bath and North East Somerset 11 11 
			 EE Bedford Borough 15 15 
			 LON Bexley 16 16 
			 WM Birmingham 75 65 
			 NW Blackburn with Darwen 13 13 
			 NW Blackpool 13 10 
			 NW Bolton 18 18 
			 SW Bournemouth 9 8 
			 SE Bracknell Forest 8 4 
			 YH Bradford 41 41 
			 LON Brent 19 17 
			 SE Brighton and Hove 15 15 
			 SW Bristol, City of 31 31 
			 LON Bromley 18 10 
			 SE Buckinghamshire 35 35 
			 NW Bury 14 14 
			 YH Calderdale 16 16 
			 EE Cambridgeshire 40 40 
			 LON Camden 17 15 
			 EE Central Bedfordshire 22 9 
			 NW Cheshire East 19 13 
			 NW Cheshire West and Chester 20 16 
			 LON City of London 1 1 
			 SW Cornwall 40 18 
			 WM Coventry 23 17 
			 LON Croydon 26 20 
			 NW Cumbria 28 28 
			 NE Darlington 7 5 
			 EM Derby, City of 18 18 
			 EM Derbyshire 54 54 
			 SW Devon 43 43 
			 YH Doncaster 21 21 
			 SW Dorset 23 22 
		
	
	
		
			 WM Dudley 20 20 
			 NE Durham 43 43 
			 LON Ealing 28 27 
			 YH East Riding of Yorkshire 20 20 
			 SE East Sussex 36 31 
			 LON Enfield 24 24 
			 EE Essex 85 85 
			 NE Gateshead 15 10 
			 SW Gloucestershire 39 39 
			 LON *** Greenwich 24 16 
			 LON Hackney 20 13 
			 NW Halton 8 8 
			 LON Hammersmith and Fulham 15 9 
			 SE Hampshire 81 54 
			 LON Haringey 19 16 
			 LON Harrow 16 6 
			 NE Hartlepool 8 4 
			 LON Havering 14 13 
			 WM Herefordshire 12 11 
			 EE Hertfordshire 82 82 
			 LON Hillingdon 17 18 
			 LON Hounslow 18 18 
			 SE Isle of Wight 8 8 
			 SW Isles of Scilly 1 1 
			 LON Islington 16 16 
			 LON Kensington and Chelsea 8 8 
			 SE Kent 96 96 
			 YH Kingston upon Hull, City of 20 11 
			 LON Kingston upon Thames 11 10 
			 YH Kirklees 32 32 
			 NW Knowsley 15 13 
			 LON Lambeth 29 27 
			 NW Lancashire 79 79 
			 YH Leeds 58 57 
			 EM Leicester, City of 23 23 
			 EM Leicestershire 41 36 
			 LON Lewisham 19 19 
			 EM Lincolnshire 48 21 
			 NW Liverpool 26 17 
			 EE Luton 23 7 
			 NW Manchester 40 39 
			 SE Medway 19 19 
			 LON Merton 11 5 
			 NE Middlesbrough 13 9 
			 SE Milton Keynes 20 20 
			 YH NE Lincolnshire 14 10 
			 NE Newcastle upon Tyne 18 18 
			 LON Newham 20 20 
			 EE Norfolk 54 53 
			 YH North Lincolnshire 12 12 
			 SW North Somerset 14 14 
			 NE North Tyneside 12 12 
		
	
	
		
			 YH North Yorkshire 37 37 
			 EM Northamptonshire 50 50 
			 NE Northumberland 20 20 
			 EM Nottingham, City of 18 18 
			 EM Nottinghamshire 58 58 
			 NW Oldham 16 16 
			 SE Oxfordshire 45 43 
			 EE Peterborough, City of 15 15 
			 SW Plymouth, City of 17 17 
			 SW Poole 8 8 
			 SE Portsmouth 16 16 
			 SE Reading 13 13 
			 LON Redbridge 22 17 
			 NE Redcar and Cleveland 12 7 
			 LON Richmond upon Thames 10 7 
			 NW Rochdale 16 16 
			 YH Rotherham 22 22 
			 EM Rutland 2 2 
			 NW Salford 16 8 
			 WM Sandwell 21 21 
			 NW Sefton 15 11 
			 YH Sheffield 36 36 
			 WM Shropshire 18 18 
			 SE Slough 10 10 
			 WM Solihull 14 14 
			 SW Somerset 41 41 
			 SW South Gloucestershire 15 15 
			 NE South Tyneside 12 7 
			 SE Southampton 14 14 
			 EE Southend on Sea 14 11 
			 LON Southwark 21 17 
			 NW St Helens 12 8 
			 WM Staffordshire 54 54 
			 NW Stockport 19 12 
			 NE Stockton on Tees 11 12 
			 WM Stoke on Trent 16 16 
			 EE Suffolk 48 48 
			 NE Sunderland 17 5 
			 SE Surrey 69 58 
			 LON Sutton 14 14 
			 SW Swindon 14 14 
			 NW Tameside 17 17 
			 WM Telford and Wrekin 13 13 
			 EE Thurrock 15 9 
			 SW Torbay 7 3 
			 LON Tower Hamlets 23 12 
			 NW Trafford 16 16 
			 YH Wakefield 23 23 
			 WM Walsall 18 18 
			 LON Waltham Forest 17 6 
			 LON Wandsworth 23 18 
			 NW Warrington 12 12 
			 WM Warwickshire 39 39 
		
	
	
		
			 SE West Berkshire 10 10 
			 SE West Sussex 49 45 
			 LON Westminster, City of 15 3 
			 NW Wigan 20 20 
			 SW Wiltshire 30 30 
			 SE Windsor and Maidenhead 10 3 
			 NW Wirral 16 16 
			 SE Wokingham 10 8 
			 WM Wolverhampton 18 18 
			 WM Worcestershire 34 34 
			 YH York, City of 9 9 
			 Totals    
			  Total No. of CCs 3,631 3,230 
			  Difference  401

Citizenship: Education

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what qualifications are required to teach citizenship in schools.

David Laws: To teach in a maintained school a person must hold qualified teacher status or qualified teacher learning and skills status, or the person must be an instructor with special qualifications or experience, an employment-based trainee teacher or an overseas trained teacher within four years of his or her first day of teaching in England. Teachers in academies must meet the same requirements as in maintained schools if the academy's funding agreement requires this.
	The Government does not require particular qualifications to teach citizenship. Individual head teachers are best placed to decide the basis on which to appoint and deploy teachers in the interest of the pupils in their schools.

Conditions of Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of 
	(1)  officials in his Department have requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted;
	(2)  staff in his Department requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has a range of flexible working arrangements which can be put in place. Discussions and agreements to these arrangements are managed locally with line managers and are reviewed regularly to ensure that any agreement meets business needs. Possible arrangements include working from home, job share, part-time working and compressed hours.
	No information is available on the number of requests made for different working arrangements. Where there has been agreement to a different working arrangement, information is only held centrally where these impact on payroll.
	Part-time working
	Information is available for the number of staff working part-time for the last three financial years.
	
		
			  Number of part-time staff Total number of staff % part-time staff 
			 2009-10 426 2,691 15.8 
			 2010-11 408 2,585 15.8 
			 2011-12 412 2,784 14.8 
		
	
	Homeworkers
	The majority of the Department's staff who work from home on a regular or irregular basis are managed under flexible local arrangements which are not recorded centrally. However, the Department has some staff whose home is considered their normal place of work because their job involves them travelling around sites at a distance from departmental offices. A manual survey undertaken last year indicated that there are around 4% of staff in the Department who fall within this category.
	Compressed Hours
	The Department undertook a manual survey of staff to identify those working compressed hours as at summer 2012. This established that around 8% of staff work compressed hours.

Curriculum

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects the timetable for the National Curriculum Review to be announced and published.

Elizabeth Truss: The timetable for the review of the national curriculum was originally published on the Department’s website when we launched the review in January 2011. It set out that the review would be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 would introduce new Programmes of Study for English, mathematics, science and physical education for first teaching from September 2013; and phase 2 would introduce any other subjects that form part of the new national curriculum from September 2014. In December 2011, however, we announced a change to this timetable which means that we will now implement the new national curriculum for all subjects from September 2014.

Domestic Violence

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department takes to identify, assess and address risks to women and children of domestic violence as a result of private law Children Act proceedings.

Edward Timpson: The Private Law Programme requires courts to identify risks or allegations of abuse at an early stage in residence and contact proceedings brought under the Children Act 1989 (‘the Act’), and if necessary hold a fact-finding hearing to determine the risk to parties before deciding how contact is to proceed.
	The Act requires courts to have the welfare of the child as its paramount consideration when making decisions. The Welfare Checklist in the Act specifies that courts must have regard to particular issues, including the physical and emotional needs of the child, and any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering. Risk of harm to the child may relate directly to harm the child has experienced themselves or which he or she has witnessed; for example, domestic violence.
	Additionally, CAFCASS officers have a duty to conduct a risk assessment during private family law proceedings when they suspect that a child is at risk of harm. The results of that risk assessment are provided to the court so that it may make well-informed decisions.

Education: Assessments

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that pupils from Northern Ireland who sit GCSE examinations through English and Welsh examination boards will be catered for in any new examination arrangements introduced.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 22 October 2012
	Qualifications policy is a devolved matter and it is for each government to decide on the reforms it believes are necessary to ensure that examinations at 16 are rigorous and prepare young people to succeed in further and higher education and the world of work.
	In England, we seek to reverse the long-term decline in standards by providing schools with new, high quality qualifications—to be known as English Baccalaureate Certificates—that match the world's best.

Education: Assessments

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupil results at key stage four were discounted from schools results in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Elizabeth Truss: “Discounting” in the School Performance Tables is intended to ensure that, where a student has taken more than one qualification in the same subject area, the Tables only give credit once for teaching a single course of study by counting the best result achieved.
	At present, discounting may occur if:
	i. A student re-sits a qualification before the end of the key stage (perhaps with a different awarding organisation);
	ii. A student has obtained qualifications in the same subject but at different levels before the end of key stage 4 e.g. a GCSE and an AS level;
	iii. The student has completed a single course of study, but is then entered for two or more very similar qualifications e.g. a GCSE and an iGCSE. Discounting ensures that only the best grade obtained is counted.
	Information in the following table shows the number of pupils re-taking the same qualification (i.e. a GCSE) and those taking a different qualification (e.g. an AS-level or GCSE in addition to an iGCSE) in the same subject area.
	These figures should not be combined as a single pupil may retake the same qualification within one subject area, but take multiple different qualifications in another subject area. A pupil may also retake the same qualification in a number of subject areas, in all cases within each cell below a pupil is counted only once.
	
		
			 Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 with results discounted 
			 Year: 2010/11 (final), 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Coverage: England (all schools) 
			  Number of pupils with results discounted due to:  
			  Retaking at least one similar qualification in the same subject area (1) Taking at least one different qualification in the same subject area (2) Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 
			 2010/11 286,836 133,082 627,093 
			 2011/12 293,560 143,467 623,440 
			 (1 )The similar qualification is defined here as being of the same level in the same subject area (e.g. all GCSE geography). (2) Examples of 'different qualifications' in the same subject may include GCSE mathematics and AS level mathematics. In this situation, this in all likelihood demonstrates good progression. It may also include pupils taking both GCSEs and iGCSEs in the same subject. Note: The Performance Tables also now include 'exception discounting rules' for linked qualifications in English, mathematics and the sciences e.g. to determine what counts when pupils have sat GCSEs in individual sciences but also obtained core and additional science GCSEs. We are not able to easily account for this within this analysis.

Education: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many compensation claims have been made against local education authorities in the East of England in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to compensation claimants by local education authorities in the East of England in each of the last three years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not hold this information. Local authorities in the East of England will no doubt hold this information but the Department for Education does not collate the information centrally.

Education: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the level of central Government expenditure on education in Halton borough council area has been in each financial year since 2009-10.

David Laws: Funding allocated by the Department for Education for schools and academies in Halton borough council, for each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Revenue funding Capital funding 
			 2009-10 96.36 11.45 
			 2010-11 101.03 5.38 
			 2011-12 103.15 32.68 
			 2012-13 104.43 15.69 
		
	
	Revenue funding includes funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant and:
	other specific grants up to 2010-11;
	Pupil Premium since 2011-12; and
	School Sixth Form funding for maintained schools.
	The figures do not include sixth form funding paid direct to academies by the Education Funding Agency (previously the Young People's Learning Agency). Capital funding for 2012-13 is provisional at this point in the financial year.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which EU directives his Department transposed in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which EU directives his Department expects to transpose in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such directive to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not transposed any EU directives in 2011 and 2012. I do not expect the Department to transpose any EU directives in 2013 or in the following two years.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which regulations his Department introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which regulations his Department expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not introduced any regulations as a result of EU legislation in 2011 and 2012. I do not expect the Department to implement any regulations as a result of EU legislation in 2013 or in the following two years.

Free Schools: Newham

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has provided to Newham Free Academy;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the number of applications Newham Free Academy has received from prospective pupils;
	(3)  how many meetings have taken place between representatives of Newham Free Academy and his Department;
	(4)  how many of the prospective parents of the Newham Free Academy reside in the London borough of Newham;
	(5)  from which postcodes prospective parents applied for their child or children to attend the Newham Free Academy.

Elizabeth Truss: Officials from the Department have had regular contact with representatives from Newham Free Academy, as they do with all free school groups whose application is approved. Details of the funding provided to all free school proposals approved to open in 2012 will be published in 2013.
	London borough of Newham's Pupil Services received a total of nine applications for a Year 7 place at Newham Free Academy for September 2012. No information is held by the Department on the postcodes or residency of prospective parents for the school. The proposal has been withdrawn from the free school programme.

GCSE

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what matters were taken into consideration when setting the floor target for the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C GCSEs.

David Laws: The floor standard represents the minimum acceptable level of achievement of which secondary schools should be capable, and helps to identify those schools where urgent action is required to bring about improvement. We have set a higher floor standard, which we will raise over time, but one that is fairer because it includes expected standards of both attainment and progression.
	Under the current standard, a secondary school will fall below the floor if fewer than 40% of pupils achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English and mathematics, and fewer pupils make good progress than the national average. The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has made clear that we aspire to raise the standard to 50% by the end of this Parliament. It is unacceptable to have secondary schools where half of children are not secure in the basics by 16.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people now aged 19 who were looked after at the age of 16 and who were not in employment, education or training on 31 March 2011 had achieved (a) five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents, (b) A* to C in both GCSE English and mathematics, (c) A* to C in English GCSE and (d) A* to C in GCSE mathematics.

Edward Timpson: The information requested on the educational outcomes of young people now aged 19 years who were looked-after at the age of 16 and who were not in employment, education or training on 31 March 2011 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities in England, as at 31 March 2012, were published in a Statistical First Release on 12 December 2012:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/recentreleases/a00217266/outcomes-children-looked-after-las-england-march-2012
	The attainment of looked-after children(1) at key stage 4, on all the key indicators, has increased between 2011 and 2012, and there are encouraging signs that the gap in attainment between looked-after children and non-looked after children is beginning to narrow.
	The Government is committed to improving educational outcomes for looked-after children. In my letter of 12 December to Directors of Children's Services and Lead Members I announced our intention to work with the National College and require all local authorities in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to champion the education of their looked-after children.
	(1) Children looked-after continuously for 12 months in the year ending 31 March.

GCSE: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils in state schools in Leeds North West constituency achieved five GCSE passes, including mathematics and English, in each year since 2007.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Numbers and percentages of pupils (1,2,3)  achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including mathematics and English GCSEs (4,5)  and five or more A*-G grades at GCSE and equivalent including mathematics and English GCSEs (4,5)  in Leeds North West constituency (6) . Years: 2006/07 to 2010/11 
			  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 Five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs Five or more A*- G grades at GCSE and equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs 
			   No.  achieving %  achieving No.  achieving %  achieving 
			 2006/07 698 315 45.1 603 86.4 
			 2007/08 674 353 52.4 617 91.5 
			 2008/09 661 313 47.4 590 89.3 
			 2009/10 682 352 51.6 621 91.1 
			 2010/11 623 359 57.6 593 95.2 
			 (1)Percentages are based on all pupils at end of key stage 4 in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency. (2) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Figures include all state-funded schools (including CTCs and academies). (4) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (5) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. Source: National Pupil Database (final data)

GCSE: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government in respect of GCSEs in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 6 September 2012
	Qualifications policy is a devolved matter. It is for each government to decide on the reforms it believes are necessary to ensure that examinations at 16 are rigorous and prepare young people to succeed in further and higher education and the world of work. Education Ministers have not had discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government about GCSEs in Wales. Officials of the Department for Education share information about qualifications policy developments with their counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland. The qualifications regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to discuss with their fellow regulators issues across the three countries.

Health Education: Sex

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to update the sexual relationship education guidance for personal, social and health education lessons.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State's Guidance on Sex and Relationships Education already provides schools with a sound set of principles to ensure that pupils receive age-appropriate support through their physical, emotional and moral development.
	The Guidance is being considered as part of an internal review of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). We have conducted a consultation and are considering its conclusions.

Herringham School

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects Herringham School to convert to Academy status; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Herringham Primary School, Thurrock received an Academy Order on 16 November 2011. Officials are working with the school and Thurrock borough council to achieve a conversion date set by the school. The school will be joining the Gateway Academy Trust, part of the Ormiston Academies Network.

Immigration

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the additional cost of the delivery of those public services for which his Department is responsible arising from inward migration since 1997.

David Laws: Schools and providers of children's services do not monitor the migration status of children and young people and have never been required to do so. We cannot, therefore, estimate the additional cost to the Department for Education arising from inward migration.

Internet

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been spent on (a) strategy and planning, (b) design and build, (c) hosting and infrastructure, (d) content provision and (e) testing and evaluation for his Department's websites in each of the last two years; and how much has been allocated for each such category of expenditure in 2012-13.

David Laws: The Department has spent a total of £9,073,100 (including VAT) on the Department's websites in the past two years. A detailed breakdown is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 (Budget allocation) 
			 Strategy, planning, design and build 935,774 1,080,543 1,400,000 
			 Hosting and infrastructure 1,926,276 2,214,820 1,925,625 
			 Content provision 850,505 1,246,112 928,000 
			 Testing and evaluation 152,320 666,750.00 110,520 
			     
			 Total 3,864,875 5,208,225 4,364,145 
		
	
	A total of £4,364,145 has been allocated to the website in 2012-13. The content provision costs for 2012-13 include the sum of £350,000 which has been allocated to cover the cost of migrating content to the GOV.UK platform.

Languages: GCSE

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of students sitting GCSE examinations in (a) Hindi, (b) Arabic, (c) Portuguese, (d) Russian, (e) Punjabi, (f) Mandarin and (g) Cantonese passed at A* to C level in each of the last 10 years.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 1 November 2012
	The information requested for each of the last five years is included in the following table. To provide this information for earlier years would incur a disproportionate cost. There are no entries for GCSE Hindi over this time period; however, a Cambridge International Certificate in Hindi was entered by 23 pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2011/12. We are not able to identify GCSE Mandarin and Cantonese, therefore, GCSE Chinese has been given.
	
		
			 GCSE achievements (1)  in selected subjects of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in schools, 2007/08 to 2011/12 (2) , England 
			  Final  
			  2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 (3) 2011/12 (3)  (Provisional) 
			 Arabic      
			 Number of pupils achieving grades A* to C 1,308 1,565 1,568 1,629 1,815 
			 Percentage of pupils achieving grades A* to C 72 73 74 76 77 
			       
			 Portuguese      
			 Number of pupils achieving grades A* to C 926 1,025 1,030 1,067 1,121 
			 Percentage of pupils achieving grades A* to C 85 85 86 85 89 
			       
			 Russian      
			 Number of pupils achieving grades A* to C 1,487 1,463 1,483 1,479 1,504 
			 Percentage of pupils achieving grades A* to C 93 95 95 94 95 
			       
			 Punjabi      
			 Number of pupils achieving grades A* to C 631 617 555 513 545 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage of pupils achieving grades A* to C 76 78 77 79 79 
			       
			 Chinese      
			 Number of pupils achieving grades A* to C 2,044 2,312 2,435 2,377 2,262 
			 Percentage of pupils achieving grades A* to C 97 95 96 96 95 
			 (1) For each subject only one attempt is counted—that which achieved the highest grade. (2) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 include pupils in alternative provision, earlier years do not.

Meetings

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings have been conducted by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare since September 2012; how many such meetings have included hon. Members from (a) the Conservative and Liberal Democrat and (b) other parties; how many such meetings have included charities; and how many have included other types of organisation.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 17 December 2012
	Since September 2012, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), has conducted 109 external meetings. There have been 19 meetings which included hon. Members from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties and one meeting which included hon. Members from other parties. Charities have been present at nine meetings and 78 meetings have included other types of organisations.

Official Cars

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) Ministerial Car Pool journeys and (b) Red Box movements he has undertaken in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 28 June 2012
	The Department for Education has one allocated ministerial car. For other official journeys, Ministers use public transport or the Ministerial Car Pool Service.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), uses official cars for official business and to transport classified papers in the Red Box in line with the Ministerial Code. In the last 12 months (from June 2011 to the end of May 2012), he has used the Ministerial Car Pool for 176 journeys and 78 Red Box deliveries.

Official Cars

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Ministers in his Department have been allocated Government cars; and what the last dates were on which such cars were used by each Minister for (a) individual and (b) pool car use.

Elizabeth Truss: No Ministers have Government cars allocated to them individually; however one departmental pool car is contracted to the Department. Not all journeys are logged therefore the latest dates the car was used by each Minister is not known.

Ofsted

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he received concerning Ofsted's use of lay inspectors prior to the introduction of the revised section 5 Inspection Framework in September 2012; and what representations he has received since the introduction of the revised framework.

David Laws: Her Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) has the specific responsibility to determine the qualifications and experience required of all inspectors who undertake inspections on his behalf. Additionally, under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, HMCI is required to publish a report on the qualifications, experience and standards required of additional inspectors undertaking inspections on his behalf. The Department has not received any formal representations on this matter. However, we have received a small amount of correspondence concerning this matter prior to, and since, the introduction of the revised ‘framework for school inspection’. HMCI has ceased using former lay inspectors in the delivery of inspections under the revised framework. All inspectors of schools are required to have appropriate teaching qualifications.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which groups he has met with to discuss relationship education in the latest period for which figures are available; and which groups he intends to meet for discussions on relationship education in the next 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), met my hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (Mr Jackson), Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands), Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) and Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes), to discuss sex and relationship education on 8 February 2011. The Secretary of State has no such meetings planned in the next 12 months.

Physical Education

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the English Baccalaureate on the teaching of physical education in secondary schools.

Elizabeth Truss: A survey conducted recently by Ipsos Mori on behalf of the Department for Education found no evidence that the introduction of the English Baccalaureate has had an impact on the teaching of physical education (PE) in secondary schools. PE is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at all four key stages and will remain compulsory following the current review of the National Curriculum. Although pupils studying PE at key stage 4 do not have to take an examination in the subject, they do have to follow the full programme of study for PE for that key stage.

Primary Education: Admissions

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the point at which any peak in numbers of additional primary school forms of entry will occur in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England.

David Laws: As part of the strategic management of their schools, we require local authorities to produce a forecast of the number of pupils, by year group, in their primary schools five years ahead and seven years ahead for secondary schools. The Department collects the pupil forecast information from each local authority through an annual survey. The most recent data available relate to forecasts produced in 2011 which are available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001050/index.shtml
	The published data show the forecasted number of reception pupils over the next five years by local authority and inform the point at which any peak in numbers of primary aged pupils will occur.

Primary Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average number of pupils is at each primary school in (a) Hull, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire, (c) North East Lincolnshire and (d) North Lincolnshire.

David Laws: The average number of pupils at each state-funded primary school by local authority can be derived from the tables published as part of the Statistical First Release “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012”. Specifically tables 7a which details the total number of state-funded primary schools by local authority and 7b which details the total number of pupils at state-funded primary schools by local authority. These data are available on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml
	The number of state-funded primary schools and the total number of pupils in each of the four local authorities specified are given in the following table with an average number per primary school derived from this data.
	
		
			 Number of state-funded primary schools, pupils in state-funded primary schools and average number of pupils per state-funded primary school, January 2012 
			  Number of primary schools Headcount of pupils Average number of pupils per primary school 
			 City of Kingston Upon Hull 71 21,844 308 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 125 24,980 200 
			 North East Lincolnshire 47 13,470 287 
			 North Lincolnshire 65 13,768 212 
			 Note: Includes middle schools as deemed and all primary academies including free schools. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Source: School Census, January 2012

Psychometric Testing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an assessment of the Values in Action profiling of character strength in developing positive character strength.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 September 2012
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has made no assessment of the Values in Action profiling of character strength.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answers of 5 July 2012, Official Report, columns 808-11W, on publications, how much his Department has spent on (a) circulars, (b) consultation documents and (c) publications since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: Consultations produced by the Department incur no cost as they come from the e-consultation system. Production of consultation publications in hard copy has not been done for a few years as part of the Government’s cost saving exercise.
	The Department’s total spend on publications since May 2010 was £164,520.15.
	The Department’s finance system is unable to differentiate specific costs on how much was spent on circulars.

Pupils: Bullying

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many children in each local authority area are receiving elective home education as a result of severe bullying;
	(2)  what support his Department makes available for severely-bullied children who are not attending school.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of children being home educated. This Government wants schools to take firm action against bullying and prevent it from occurring in the first place. To help schools, this Government has strengthened teachers' powers to tackle poor behaviour and bullying through the Education Act 2011, and updated our advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying.
	The Department for Education does not provide specific support to severely-bullied children who are not attending school. Schools, and where appropriate local authorities and other agencies, are best placed to support victims of bullying who cannot, or do not wish to, attend school. In such circumstances the emphasis should be on working with the pupil and parents to support a successful reintegration to school.

Pupils: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on each school pupil in each local education authority area in the east of England in each of the last five years.

David Laws: The available information on how much has been spent on each school pupil in each local education authority in the east of England for the last five years has been placed in the House Libraries. The information for 2011-12 will be available in January 2013 when it will be published as Official Statistics.

Pupils: English Language

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils there are for whom English is a second language in schools in (a) England and Wales, (b) Greater London and (c) Crawley constituency.

David Laws: Information on pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English is shown in the table.
	The latest published information on first language is available in the 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml
	The Department does not collect information on pupils in Wales. This is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly.
	
		
			 State-funded primary (1,2) , state-funded secondary (1,3) , special schools (4)  and pupil referral units: number and percentage of pupils by first language (5)  January 2012, England, London and Crawley parliamentary constituency 
			  Pupils of compulsory school age and above (5) 
			  No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English (6) No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English (6) Unclassified (7) % unclassified (6) Total 
			 England 1,007,095 15.2 5,616,845 84.6 16,235 0.2 6,640,175 
			 London 419,955 42.5 562,990 56.9 5,780 0.6 988,725 
			 Crawley parliamentary constituency 3,605 23.3 11,869 76.6 25 0.2 15,500 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (1) Includes all primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools. (4) Includes maintained special schools, special academies and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified by first language. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (7) Information was not sought or refused or pending classification. Note: National, regional and total figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding each school received per pupil in the latest year for which figures are available.

David Laws: The Department published, on 13 December, details of each maintained primary school's income and spending data for 2011-12. The information forms part of the 2012 Performance Tables data and it can be found at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html
	Spend by pupil data can be accessed at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download/School_spend_per_pupil_2011-2012-Grouped_data.zip
	2011-12 data for secondary schools will be published in January 2013.
	2010-11 school spend data for primary, secondary schools and academies can be found at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2011/download_data.html

Runaway Children

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to make independent return home interviews a statutory duty for every child who runs away from home and care.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 18 December 2012
	The need for return interviews is addressed in statutory guidance on young people who run away and go missing from home or care. The current guidance stresses the importance of them in providing a link to other services and care planning but carrying them out is not a statutory requirement. The statutory guidance is currently being revised and we intend to consult on it early in the new year. However, at the moment, there are no plans to make return interviews statutory as this should be a matter for local authority discretion.

School Meals

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce mandatory nutritional food standards in all state schools.

Elizabeth Truss: Compulsory standards for all food and drink provided by maintained schools during the school day have been fully in place since September 2009.
	Free Schools and Academies set up from September 2010 are not required to comply with the standards.
	The Government wants all pupils to have the opportunity to select a healthy, balanced school lunch. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has appointed Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent as independent reviewers to examine school food across the country, in order to produce an action plan for schools. The reviewers will present their findings in 2013.

Schools: Equality

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with Ofsted on that body's inspection of the implementation of the public sector equality duty in schools.

David Laws: Discussions between Ofsted and the Department on school inspection regularly focus on aspects of equality, such as narrowing gaps in achievement between different groups of pupils. Equalities principles are embedded throughout the school inspection framework and inspection handbook. Importantly, when inspecting against the four core areas of achievement; teaching, behaviour and safety, and leadership, inspectors need to have due regard to the needs of the range of pupils, with specific reference to disabled pupils and those with special education needs (SEN).

Schools: Inspections

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education to which primary and secondary schools he has written to congratulate them on achieving a grade of outstanding in Ofsted inspections since May 2010.

David Laws: A revised Ofsted framework for school inspection was introduced from September this year and the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), will be writing to all schools that are judged outstanding under these new arrangements.

Schools: Measurement

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to improve and extend teaching of imperial measurements in schools to ensure an understanding of their use on roads and amongst the public.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 September 2012
	As part of the review of the National Curriculum, we propose to include imperial units within the new Programmes of Study for mathematics. We have undertaken an informal consultation on the draft primary mathematics curriculum which was published in June, alongside English and science. The draft goes further than the current National Curriculum in terms of what pupils are expected to learn in relation to imperial units, including explicit reference to miles. We are currently considering feedback on these proposals and the Government will publish a revised draft for full public consultation in early 2013. The consultation will also include proposed changes to the secondary curriculum.

Schools: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has assessed the teaching of mindfulness in (a) infant, (b) junior and (c) secondary schools.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 September 2012
	The Department for Education has not conducted a systematic review or assessment of the teaching of mindfulness in infant, primary or secondary schools. The Department has conducted a review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education, which includes the teaching of issues such as emotional well-being and social skills. The review identified a core body of knowledge that pupils need and identified ways to improve the quality of teaching. The PSHE review considered information from a variety of sources: submissions of evidence and good practice, and an in-depth evaluation of existing research evidence on PSHE education and its teaching.

Schools: Playing Fields

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2012, Official Report, column 778W, on schools: playing fields, on how many occasions Government decisions to (a) approve or (b) reject applications to dispose of school playing fields have matched the relevant recommendation made by the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel in each year since 2001.

David Laws: The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), weighs up all factors when deciding whether or not to grant consent to any disposal of school playing field land by a local authority or school, including the recommendations of the School Playing Field Advisory Panel. Disposal is only approved where the sports and curriculum facilities remain sufficient or will be improved, and where proceeds of sale are earmarked to improve sports or education facilities.
	Government decisions to reject or approve applications to dispose of school playing fields have matched the relevant recommendation made by the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel on all except eight occasions since 2001:
	In 2003 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
	In 2007 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
	In 2008 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
	In 2011 two cases were approved where the panel recommended rejection.
	In 2012 three cases were approved where the panel recommended rejection.

Schools: Standards

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will reform school league tables to reflect the prior level of attainment of pupils when they first entered secondary school.

David Laws: The 2011 School Performance Tables, published in January 2012, provided information on the attainment of pupils on entry to secondary school, compared with local authority area and national averages. Performance measures showing the attainment and progress of pupils were also broken down to show the respective performance of pupils in each of the "low", "middle" and "high" prior attainment groups. These included new value added measures.

Schools: Standards

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the valued added measure in school league tables.

David Laws: New school-level value added (VA) measures were introduced to the 2011 Performance Tables, showing the progress made by pupils between the ends of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 for primary schools, and between the ends of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 for secondary schools. No assessment has been made of these measures since their introduction.
	We will shortly launch a consultation on further reforms to secondary school accountability. The consultation will ask how we can ensure that the performance tables recognise schools that support all their students to achieve their best, and how we can minimise the perverse incentives in the accountability system.

Science: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was provided by his Department to the (a) British Science Association, (b) Life Science Centre, (c) Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network and (d) UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education funded the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) £1,974,150 in 2010-11, £1,500,000 in 2011-12 and £250,000 in 2012-13. The Department funded the British Science Association £250,000 in each of these years, and funded the Life Science Centre £48,756 in 2010-11 only. The Department has not provided any funding to the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology in any of these years.
	The funding for STEMNET supports the STEM Clubs Programme which provides pupils with opportunities to be inspired by exploring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects beyond the formal curriculum. The funding also supported STEMNET's work with LOCOG to deliver nine themed STEM challenges linked to the 2012 Olympics. The funding for the British Science Association is to expand their CREST Awards Scheme which gives pupils nationally recognised accredited awards for challenging science projects. The Life Science Centre funding was used to provide practical courses for secondary school pupils.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on special educational needs in the financial years (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and how much he expects it to spend in each financial year to 2015-16.

Edward Timpson: It is for local authorities to determine, how they spend their funds locally. During the 2011-12 financial year local authorities in England reported in their section 251 budget statements net planned expenditure of £5,645,585,000. In 2012-13 financial years, the net planned expenditure was £5,623,111,000.
	The information for the next three financial years is not due to be collected until the start of each financial year.

Special Educational Needs

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) further education colleges and (b) sixth form colleges have been involved in each of the Pathfinders established to test proposals to reform provision for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

Edward Timpson: We are funding 20 pathfinders, made up of 31 local authorities and their health partners, to test the Green Paper reforms for disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs. Each pathfinder is involving a broad range of partners. In the majority of cases this includes one or more local further education college, sixth-form college or independent specialist provider in the pathfinder area. 12 of the 20 pathfinders are focusing specifically on preparation for adulthood, and are focusing closely on working with post-16 providers.
	The evidence from the pathfinders themselves, our support partner Mott Macdonald, the Preparing for Adulthood delivery partner and from the independent evaluation is that the pathfinders are engaging well with FE colleges and other post-16 providers, particularly where the pathfinder has a strong preparing for adulthood focus.
	We are committed to building on this engagement. We have recently written to pathfinders to say that specific grant conditions for next year's pathfinder funding are likely to include a requirement to demonstrate how they are working with post-16 providers and ensuring sufficient coverage in the programme of post-16 learners.

Special Educational Needs

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding will be transferred from the Education Funding Agency to each local authority to enable them to take responsibility for the education of 16 to 25 year olds with a special educational need or disability in each of the next three years.

David Laws: In August 2012 the Education Funding Agency wrote to local authorities advising them of their indicative budgets for the 2013-14 financial year, as a basis on which to plan. The total indicative budget to transfer was £175 million.
	The financial year 2013-14 is transitional because some relevant costs falling in the 2012/13 academic year will be met from other budgets and are not therefore included in this transfer. The final budgets have yet to be calculated and will be issued to local authorities by the end of December 2012.
	Local authorities already commission placements for these students. There is no additional transfer specifically to fund local authority administration, but the rules governing the use of the Dedicated Schools Grant allow it to be spent on associated administrative costs and overheads.
	Budgets beyond 2013-14 have not yet been agreed.

Special Educational Needs

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of additional learning support funds are being spent on supporting individual disabled students to participate on accredited mainstream courses.

David Laws: holding answer 18 December 201 2 
	During the academic year 2011/12 the Education Funding Agency provided £253 million to fund additional learning support. Of this £202 million supported courses for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is 80% of the funding provided.
	All EFA funded students in further education are required to take accredited qualifications, unless they are unable to benefit from such a qualification. Therefore, almost all students are taking at least one accredited qualification as part of their overall programme. A more precise figure for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities on accredited qualifications is not currently available but will be provided in a follow up letter once the necessary analysis to ascertain this has been completed.

Special Educational Needs

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of additional learning support funds are spent on providing or subsidising courses for people with learning difficulties and disabilities.

David Laws: During the academic year 2011/12 the Education Funding Agency provided £253 million to fund additional learning support. Of this £202 million supported courses for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is 80% of the funding provided.

Special Educational Needs

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure disabled learners who are at college receive a direct payment in lieu of education support from college.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 18 December 2012
	The forthcoming SEN reforms propose that parents of children or young people with special educational needs, will have an entitlement to a personal budget where they have an Education, Health and Care plan. This will apply to special educational support provision in schools or colleges and may, where appropriate, include direct payments. This will offer families and young people increased choice and control.

Special Educational Needs

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons children with special educational needs statements at university have an entitlement to an individual support package whilst those who attend college do not.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 18 December 2012
	Young people aged 16 to 24 who had a statement of special educational needs (SEN) at school continue to receive individual support when they access further education at a college. Local authorities have a duty to arrange a learning difficulty assessment (LDA) which sets out the provision and support young people need. This support is delivered through colleges' Additional Learning Support (ALS) funding or, for those with complex needs in specialist placements, from the Education Funding Agency's specialist placement budget. From 2013, we are introducing new funding arrangements for 16 to 24-year-olds with high needs, giving local authorities greater responsibility and flexibility to commission packages of education and support for those with SEN in further education.
	Students studying on a higher education course who have a disability (including a long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia) can apply for a disabled students allowance (DSA) regardless of whether they are at university or college. DSAs are non means-tested, non-repayable grants awarded in addition to the standard package of student support.
	The forthcoming SEN reforms will improve the support available to young people in further education by introducing a single, birth to 25 integrated assessment process and Education, Health and Care Plan. The plan will replace statements and LDAs and will be tailored to the individual's needs and aspirations, delivering, for the first time, a continuous package of individual support, rights and protections throughout school and further education for children and young people with SEN.

Special Educational Needs

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) funding and (b) personnel his Department has allocated to developing the local offer element of the Government’s planned Children and Families Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Department is funding 31 local authorities and their local health partners to test the Government’s special educational needs reforms. The development of the draft provisions on the local offer were directly informed by the local pathfinders. Support for the pathfinders has been extended until September 2014 to make sure that the effective practice they develop will continue to influence the forthcoming legislation on special educational needs at every stage, including the regulations and the statutory guidance in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.
	The local offer is designed to set out clearly what services are available to support children and young people with special educational needs and their families. It will reflect the services that are available from within existing local resources. Clearer local information on the support that is available for families from mainstream services could help reduce the need for parents to invest time and energy in searching for basic information, and in seeking assessments and making appeals to tribunal in order to get the right support, as well as saving local authorities and local services the expense of this process.

Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many members of staff in his Department are currently employed in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare; and what the annual cost is of such staff.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 December 2012
	There are currently five members of staff employed in the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's office for Education and Childcare at a total annual salary cost of £162,708.

Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements he has made to ensure that each service listed in a local offer is of good quality.

Edward Timpson: The Government published draft legislative provisions for special educational needs in September 2012, including proposals for local authorities in England to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those who are disabled. The local offer would set out what families can expect from local services across education, health and social care. Local authorities would be required to involve local children, young people and families in developing their local offer to take account of their needs and aspirations. Each service would be accountable for delivering what is set out in the local offer and if families are unhappy with what they receive or what is available they would be able to take this up with those services. The local offer would give details of how to complain about provision and about rights of appeal.
	The draft special educational needs provisions are being scrutinised by the Education Select Committee. The Government will give careful consideration to the Committee's report when framing the legislation for introduction to Parliament.

Teachers: Training

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools have been designated as teaching schools.

David Laws: To date 217 teaching schools have been designated and an up to date list of the designated primary, secondary and special teaching schools is published on the National college website at the following address:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/docinfo?id=154985&filename=teaching-schools-designations.pdf

Teaching Methods

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the answer of 12 March 2012 in the last session of Parliament, Official Report, column 43W, on teaching methods, what representations his Department has received on the effectiveness of the Good Behaviour Game as a lifeskills programme; and if he will commission a review of the effectiveness of the programme within the English curriculum.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not received any representations in respect of the effectiveness of the Good Behaviour Game as a lifeskills programme. The Government has no plans to commission a review of the effectiveness of this programme.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education to how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day his Department had not provided a substantive written answer by the day named in each of the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 13 December 2012
	The data requested are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Performance against standard 
			  Due for answer Answered Met parliamentary deadline (set by MP) Received a holding reply Percentage receiving a holding reply 
			 2011      
			 November 97 76 13 84 86.60 
			 December 69 46 10 59 85.51 
			       
			 2012      
			 January 66 59 23 43 65.15 
			 February 51 39 19 32 62.75 
			 March 73 54 16 57 78.08 
			 April 53 53 20 33 62.26 
			 May 57 45 15 42 73.68 
			 June 75 43 4 71 94.67 
			 July 51 38 10 41 80.39 
			 August 0 0 0 0 Recess 
			 September 48 16 3 45 93.75 
			 October 76 54 17 59 77.63 
			 November 81 56 6 75 92.59 
		
	
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_Monitoring_PQs.pdf

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when he plans to answer question 128313, on early intervention funding, tabled on 8 November 2012 for answer on 12 November 2012;
	(2)  when he plans to answer question 128314, on the teenage pregnancy strategy, tabled on 8 November 2012 for answer on 12 November 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: Responses were issued to my hon. Friend's questions as follows:
	PQ 135063: will be answered shortly.
	PQ 135064: 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 897W.

Young People: Databases

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to publish further guidance for local authorities on raising the participation age.

David Laws: We intend to publish brief statutory guidance for local authorities with regard to their duties under the Raising the Participation Age (RPA) legislation (Part 1 of the Education Act 2008) early in 2013. Our intention is that this will reaffirm the policy and legislative position set out in our response to the consultation on RPA regulations published in July 2012(1). We expect all local authorities to already be engaged in planning for how they will deliver RPA locally, building on their existing duties in relation to post-16 participation in education or training.
	(1) Available at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/rpa/a00210946/consultation-response

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 336W, on animals: exports, if he will publish a list of all control posts in the UK.

David Heath: The list of control posts in the UK is available on the European Union website. These details change frequently and there may be a slight time delay in updating the website.
	http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/transport/docs/council_regulation_1255_97.pdf

Animals: Exports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live animals and carcasses were transported in each of the last three years and through which ports; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The figures set out in the following table have been taken from the EU Commission TRACES Data Warehouse for the number of animals exported to EU member states, which is where the vast majority of live animals are exported to. The figures include export of live animals through both ports and airports.
	Figures for live animal exports outside the EU are not available. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) only records the quantity of export health certificates, which cover consignments with various numbers of animals, per consignment. Therefore, the quantity of export health certificates issued does not correspond to the total number of animals exported.
	Carcases are not exported whole, but only as meat cuts. Due to the free trade between member states, such exports are based on commercial documents which are not issued by the AHVLA and therefore, no figures are available.
	
		
			  2010 2011 2012 (1) 
			 Cattle 22,112 49,308 41,251 
			 Pigs 22,240 15,911 8,100 
			 Sheep and Goats 396,280 527,752 421,969 
			 Horses(2) 7,511 7,436 7,422 
			     
			 Total 448,143 600,407 478,742 
			 (1) Figures for 2012 are up to 13 December 2012. (2) Figures for horses do not include horses being transported to France or the Republic of Ireland, as under the tripartite agreement there is no requirement for an export health certificate to be issued.

Animals: Exports

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider banning live animal exports from the UK due to the potential for harm to animals for export.

David Heath: This Government has made clear that it would prefer to see animals slaughtered as close as possible to their point of production and a trade in meat or germplasm rather than a trade in live animals. However, export of farm animals for slaughter is a lawful trade. If the legal requirements laid down in the EU welfare in transport legislation are observed there is a satisfactory level of protection of the animals being transported. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency make sure that their enforcement of that legislation is as rigorous and robust as possible.

Chemicals: EU Law

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what safeguards he plans to put in place to ensure that the European REACH Regulations do not prevent companies from continuing to use chromium trioxide in manufacturing operations where exposures are well controlled and near to background levels;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the REACH Committee of the European Commission on exemptions to allow continued use by UK companies of chromium trioxide and its derivatives where there is no viable alternative.

David Heath: Chromium trioxide is a substance with carcinogenic and mutagenic hazard properties. On 21 November, the REACH Committee voted to add chromium trioxide and its derivatives, including chromic acid, to Annex XIV of the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). This means that after a sunset date industry will need an authorisation to continue using them. In the case of chromium trioxide and its derivatives the sunset date will be 53 months after the Commission Regulation comes into force.
	When a chemical is added to Annex XIV particular uses can be exempted from the general listing and this exempts those uses from needing to seek an authorisation. However, the grounds for an exemption from the authorisation procedure are tightly drawn and do not include the absence of viable alternatives as a reason for exemption. Instead the evidence on alternatives is intended to be tested at a later stage as part of the process of granting authorisations. The authorisation process does not assume that substances are to be banned; authorisations are granted for specific uses where industry can demonstrate that there are no suitable alternatives and that the socio-economic benefits of continued use outweigh the risk to human health or the environment. In an application for authorisation industry should provide clear evidence that exposures are well controlled as part of the case to demonstrate a low level of risk. At the same time the focus on alternatives also encourages industry to develop and adopt innovative and safer technologies.

Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the consequences for his Department's policies of the case of R (Sandhu) vs. Isleworth Crown Court.

David Heath: We are looking at the implications of the case of R (Sandhu) v . Isleworth Crown court as part of our considerations of an announcement of a way forward on proposals to tackle irresponsible ownership of dogs.

Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans he has to consolidate legislation in respect of dog control;
	(2)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals in respect of attacks by dogs on animals protected by Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006;
	(3)  for what reason he will not introduce dog control notices to prevent dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership;
	(4)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make a dog attack on private property a criminal offence.

David Heath: We are finalising the analysis of the responses to the consultation on our package of proposals for tackling irresponsible dog ownership and will make an announcement on a way forward in the new year.

Farms: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will amend the criteria for flood defence spending to ensure that flooding of farmland qualifies for flood defence spending; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Protecting farmland against flooding already qualifies for funding support through DEFRA flood defence grant in aid as does the protection of other businesses and economic assets. DEFRA's policy statement on the appraisal of flood and erosion risk management underlines the need to value the damages that can occur to agricultural land as a result of flooding and this forms part of the case for flood defence schemes. The 59 DEFRA-funded capital projects which completed during 2011-12 provided an improved standard of flood protection to more than 74,000 hectares of farm land.

Food: Poverty

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the contribution of (a) food banks and (b) other charities in tackling food poverty.

David Heath: There are no official figures for the number of charities providing food aid, including food banks, or the number of people using them. Therefore the Government has made no assessment of its contribution to assisting people in need. But the Government recognises that rising food prices mean, for many, a greater proportion of household income is being spent on food.
	That is why we are working nationally and internationally to promote open global markets and boost trade, which help keep food prices at levels that all households in the UK find affordable.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual operating budget of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority was in each of the last five years; and what the annual change in that budget was in (a) real and (b) percentage terms.

David Heath: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Total budget  (£000) Change in value of budget  (£000) Percentage change 
			 2008-09 3,409 183 5.7 
			 2009-10 4,698 1,289 37.8 
			 2010-11 4,638 -60 -1.3 
			 2011-12 4,279 -359 -7.7 
			 2012-13 4,015 -264 -6.2

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the annual operating budget of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority it received from the Department for Communities and Local Government in each of the last five years.

David Heath: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of total funding received from DCLG 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 0.3 
			 2010-11 11.8 
			 2011-12 0

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the annual operating budget of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority was provided by his Department in each of the last five years; and from which other sources any other funding was received.

David Heath: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  £000  
			  Total funding DEFRA funding DCLG funding DARD NI funding Percentage DEFRA funding 
			 2007-08 3,226 3,159 — 67 98 
			 2008-09 3,409 3,309 — 100 97 
			 2009-10 4,698 4,583 15 100 98 
			 2010-11 4,638 3,991 547 100 86 
			 2011-12 4,279 4,179 — 100 98

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of its annual budget the Gangmasters Licensing Authority spent on enforcement officers in each of the last five years; and what proportion of its budget it plans to spend on such officers in each of the next three years;
	(2)  what proportion of the funds received from his Department the Gangmasters Licensing Authority spent on enforcement officers in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such funds it plans to spend on such officers in each of the next three years.

David Heath: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  £000   
			  Enforcement officer costs Total funding DEFRA funding Percentage of total Percentage of DEFRA 
			 2007-08 642 3,226 3,159 20 20 
			 2008-09 1,335 3,409 3,309 39 40 
			 2009-10 1,953 4,698 4,583 42 43 
			 2010-11 2,729 4,638 3,991 59 68 
			 2011-12 2,418 4,279 4,179 57 58 
			 2012-13 (forecast) 1,852 4,115 4,015 45 46 
			 2013-14 (budget) 1,982 4,180 4,080 47 49 
			 2014-15(budget) 2,012 4,035 3,935 50 51

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the funds received from the Department of Communities and Local Government the Gangmasters Licensing Authority spent on enforcement officers in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such funds it plans to spend on such officers in each of the next three years.

David Heath: Funding was received from the Department of Communities and Local Government 2009-10 (£15,000) and 2010-11 (£547,000 ) and was discontinued thereafter. 100% of all funds received were spent on enforcement officers and their associated costs.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what enforcement action the Gangmasters Licensing Authority can take in respect of unlicensed gangmasters.

David Heath: Under section 12 of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 it is a criminal offence to operate as a gangmaster without a license. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority may prosecute an unlicensed gangmaster and a person found guilty is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to a fine, or to both.

Ivory: South East Asia

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna the rise in the number of Catholic religious icons made from ivory in the South East Asia region.

Richard Benyon: This Government made a coalition commitment to press for a ban on ivory sales and we remain focused on ensuring that the existing global ivory ban stays firmly in place. In addition to the general trade prohibition, strict trade controls exist in relation to international trade in ivory products, including religious icons, which allow limited trade, for example in worked antique ivory. The UK supports full compliance with these controls. Domestic production of, and trade in, ivory products is however a matter for the countries concerned and is governed by their own national legislation.
	If there is evidence of illegal trade in ivory religious icons made in South East Asia, we would encourage the relevant parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to take the necessary action to tackle this.
	Although not specifically focused on religious icons made from ivory, international trade in ivory will be discussed at the 16th Conference of Parties to CITES in March 2013. While we have not yet adopted a final position, we will support trade and enforcement controls which will reduce elephant poaching and illegal trafficking of ivory.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 9 November 2012 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Evelyn Wooley.

David Heath: I replied to the right hon. Member's letter on 19 December 2012.

Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what powers the Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil will have;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of establishing the Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil.

John Hayes: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	The new Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil is being set up in DECC and will join up responsibilities across Government and provide a single point of contact for investors and ensure a streamlined regulatory process. The remit of the office has not yet been fully determined and no estimate has yet been made regarding the cost of establishing the office.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given to the implementation of a production method labelling scheme for foods with egg as an ingredient to allow consumers to support efforts to improve hen welfare in countries outside the EU.

David Heath: The ability for consumers to make informed choices about the food products they buy is important to the Government. This has to be balanced against the realities of production cost and consumer support.
	The Government supports accurate voluntary labelling. The significant swing in recent years to free range egg and chicken production is a good example of how the voluntary approach can be successful. There is no legal requirement for broiler or laying hens to be reared as 'free range', yet producers recognise the added value to be gained from doing so and being able to label their products accordingly.
	The Government will continue to work with animal welfare organisations, the food industry and consumer groups to ensure the right balance between demand for additional labelling, and additional costs to producers.

Schmallenberg Virus

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to make the Schmallenberg virus a notifiable disease; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: In considering if a disease should be made notifiable, there needs to be a clear benefit to disease control in the placing of additional burden on farmers and government. In terms of control measures, there is currently no vaccine available and preventing vector spread is very difficult and therefore not a realistic control measure. The onus would lie with the farmer to report suspicion of disease and then for government to intervene. The impact of Schmallenberg virus has to date been shown to be low, with farms infected showing 2-5% of malformed lambs or calves affected and, as such, there is no rationale for intervening, although we are maintaining surveillance. This is a disease with few defined clinical signs in adult animals, making detection difficult. By the time clinical signs are seen in offspring, it is too late to control. It is also possible that notifying presence of disease on a farm may complicate trade, both with the UK, the EU and for third country partners.
	We therefore consider that making Schmallenberg virus notifiable would be over burdensome and not proportionate to the disease impact. The decision was taken in full consultation with industry and the European Commission.

Slaughterhouses: Closed Circuit Television

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to require all licensed slaughterhouses to install CCTV; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: We have recently consulted on the role CCTV can play in relation to monitoring welfare of animals at slaughter, as part of work to implement EU regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at killing. This included consideration of whether CCTV should be made mandatory. The consultation ran for six weeks and closed on 24 October 2012. A copy of the consultation can be found on the DEFRA website:
	www.defra.gov.uk/consult
	We are currently reviewing the responses received. The Government aims to publish its response to consultations within 12 weeks of the consultation closing. When finalised, the response will be published on the DEFRA website and will confirm whether the Government intends to change its current approach, which is not to require installation of CCTV in slaughterhouses.

Smoke and Chimney Gases

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that coal and wood burning appliances do not emit any more smoke or grit including condensable species than permitted within a smoke exemption zone by reference to PD6434; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Local authorities are responsible for the designation and supervision of smoke control areas. Only coal and wood-burning appliances exempted under Section 21 of the Clean Air Act 1993 can be used in a smoke control area. Local authorities provide the regulatory function, which includes monitoring of smoke emissions and ensuring that coal and wood-burning appliances installed in smoke control areas are exempted appliances. DEFRA currently manages the exemption process for appliances and fuels. The requirements for exemption, including reference to the BS PD 6434 test procedure, are provided on DEFRA's smoke control website.

Turtles: Cayman Islands

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he intends to have with representatives of the Government of the Cayman Islands on the welfare of sea turtles at the Cayman Turtle Farm; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: This Department currently has no plans to discuss the welfare of turtles at the Cayman Turtle Farm with the Cayman Islands Government. This is a matter for the Cayman Islands Government. I understand that an independent assessment of animal husbandry practices at the farm is under way and that a report will be issued shortly, which I welcome.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) declarations of interest and (b) declarations of hospitality have been for each of the board members and directors of the Waste and Resources Action Programme for the last three years; and if he will place a copy of such documents in the Library.

Richard Benyon: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is a private sector company grant-funded by DEFRA and the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although it is not a listed company and is not required to comply with the requirements of the Combined Code on Corporate Governance, WRAP adopts best practice and reports on corporate governance issues in its Annual Report and Accounts, which is available on its website. Throughout the last three financial years WRAP has complied, to the extent that is relevant, with the provisions of the Code of Best Practice set out in Section 1 of the Combined Code. Board members and directors make declarations of interest and hospitality in line with this.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his answer of 12 November 2012, Official Report, column 10W, on the Waste and Resources Action Programme, what the (a) date, (b) supplier, (c) merchant type and (d) amount is on each transaction on any corporate credit cards in the last four years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not hold details of the operational activities of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). I understand that the chief executive of WRAP would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss any issues of concern to him and I would encourage him to take up that offer.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his answer of 12 November 2012, Official Report, column 10W, on the Waste and Resources Action Programme, who attended the dinners held for directors of the Waste and Resources Action Programme; and if he will place a copy of the invoice for each dinner in the Library.

Richard Benyon: The dinners in Edinburgh and Cardiff were held for members of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) board to meet colleagues from the Scottish Government and Welsh Government respectively, to discuss the programmes that WRAP delivers in Scotland and Wales with the funding provided by each of those Governments. As waste is a devolved matter, the issue would be best raised with the relevant Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the threat from terrorism from Afghanistan after 2014; and if he will make a statement.

William Hague: The threat to global security from the al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan has been significantly reduced, in large part the result of the brave work of UK, international security assistance force and Afghan armed forces. When the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission draws to a close in 2014, we are confident that the Afghan National Security Forces will be strong enough to stop Afghan territory from again being used as a safe haven for international terrorist groups.

Buildings

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has any plans to share offices overseas with other Commonwealth countries.

Hugo Swire: We are committed to strengthening our relationship with our Commonwealth partners and believe co-location of our embassies, where it is of mutual benefit, supports closer co-operation, as well as leading to efficiency savings.
	There are already a number of locations overseas where we are co-located with Commonwealth partners. For example: in Kabul with New Zealand; in Vientiane with Australia; and in Rangoon and Bamako with Canada. We are actively pursuing further co-location opportunities with Australia, Canada and New Zealand where it is of mutual benefit.

China

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2012, House of Lords, Official Report, WA271, on China, whether the agenda for the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue will include restrictions on Muslims in Xinjiang province during Ramadan 2012 and reports that civil servants were forced to eat during fasting periods and were prevented from attending mosques.

Hugo Swire: I refer my hon. Friend to the responses, my noble Friend, the right hon. Baroness Warsi, gave in the other place on 13 November and 4 December, Official Report, House of Lords, columns WA 271 and WA 128 respectively.
	The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue usually takes place annually, and did so most recently in January 2012. The next Human Rights Dialogue is planned for spring 2013. We are not aware of reports of forced breaking of fast, but will raise this with the Chinese authorities.
	We plan on raising the situation in Xinjiang, ethnic minority rights, freedom of religion, as well as the rights of detainees and a number of individual cases at the next Human Rights Dialogue. We will continue to raise these issues in future discussions with the Chinese Government, and to make clear our concerns with reference to their stated international commitments.
	Our diplomats visit Xinjiang regularly to monitor our concern about the situation there. The most recent visit was in October 2012.

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from groups representing indigenous people in Colombia on the activity of mining companies with connections to the UK.

Hugo Swire: In July, our Deputy Head of Mission met with indigenous communities potentially affected by an expansion of the majority British-owned Cerrejón mine and subsequently raised their concerns with the company. We had a productive dialogue with the company on this issue and they have since decided to postpone their expansion plans.
	Our ambassador designate to Colombia spoke at a conference on mining in Colombia on 12 November organised by AB Colombia. Other participants included representatives of the Awá community, academics and business leaders. Officials from our geographical and human rights departments met with the indigenous speakers at a follow-up meeting to discuss these issues further. Officials at our embassy in Bogotá meet regularly with indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. We have raised their demands for protection of their rights with the Colombian Government, both bilaterally and in the EU-Colombia Human Rights Dialogue.

Falkland Islands

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on right to self-determination of the Falkland Islands and indicate his support for the decision of the Falkland Islands government to hold a referendum on its future constitutional arrangements and sovereignty.

Hugo Swire: The UK Government has no doubt over either its sovereignty of the Falkland Islands or the right of the Falkland Islanders to determine their own future. In accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, the British Government fully supports their right to self-determination and unreservedly supports the decision by the Falkland Islands government to hold a referendum on whether or not they wish the Islands to retain their current political status as a UK Overseas Territory. We expect the international community to recognise the result of the referendum.

Immigration

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the additional cost of the delivery of those public services for which his Department is responsible arising from inward migration since 1997.

Hugo Swire: The Department does not routinely produce estimates of this nature. To do so would require the Department to incur disproportionate cost.

Israel

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his counterpart in Israel on the building of a military academy on the Mount of Olives.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned about plans to build an Israeli military academy on the Mount of Olives.
	Officials in the British embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with senior officials in Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with our French and German counterparts at the end of last year. We raised our concerns over the legality of building in East Jerusalem as well as the implications this could have on UK co-operation with the military academy.
	We have also raised our concerns with the Israeli National Security Council and Ministry of Defence and the Jerusalem Municipality during the last three months.

Israel

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to Israel on the building of Israeli settlements near Bethlehem.

Alistair Burt: The UK position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law and undermine the foundations of a two state solution and trust between the parties.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) outlined concern about recent Israeli settlement announcements, including those in the area between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, during his meeting with Israeli Chief Negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, on 20 December 2012.
	On 18 December, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement condemning the decision by the Jerusalem District Planning Board to give approval for a plan to build 1,500 housing units in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramat Shlomo. He urged Israel to reverse this decision and take no further steps aimed at expanding or entrenching settlement activity.
	On 26 December, I also condemned the Jerusalem District Planning Board's recent approvals for over 3,150 units in Givaat Hamatos and 1,242 units in Mordot Gilo South. I made clear that these were profoundly provocative actions that run contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
	Our embassy in Tel Aviv continues to make our concerns on this issue clear to the Israeli authorities.

Mali

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support the Malian armed forces in restoring Malian territorial integrity.

Mark Simmonds: The UK supported the UN Security Council Resolution 2085, passed on 20 December 2012, which authorised the deployment of an African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) for an initial period of one year. AFISMA aims to contribute to the rebuilding of the capacity of the Malian military, and to support the Malian authorities in recovering the north of the country and in restoring political stability.
	We are also working with the EU to consider how we might be able to offer support towards building the capacity of the Malian armed forces, which could, subject to parliamentary scrutiny, involve a contribution of a small number of UK military trainers (with no combat role).

Pakistan

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the threat from terrorism from Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

William Hague: Groups operating from Pakistan continue to represent the greatest long-term strategic terrorism threat to the UK. Although al-Qaeda's core leadership have suffered significant loses in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region, they continue to pose a credible threat to the UK and our interests overseas.

Somalia

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support the training of the Somali security forces.

Mark Simmonds: The Federal Government of Somalia has identified security as a key priority. We are keen to support this and, in September 2012, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) announced an additional £10 million to help the new government of Somalia with its immediate needs, including security and justice. We are working with the Somali authorities and international partners to identify specific requirements where assistance is needed, including considering proposals for support to the Somali security forces. Some of this work is already underway—the European Union Training Mission, to which the UK has provided support, has to date trained approximately 3,000 Somali troops in Uganda. These troops are seen to have played a significant role in improving the security situation in Somalia.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the forming of the Syrian National Coalition on the policy of the Russian and Chinese governments in respect of the Syrian regime.

William Hague: We are encouraged to note that the coalition is receiving growing international recognition and gaining increased political credibility, particularly following the recent Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakesh. Russia and China claim to support the goal of a political transition. Achieving that goal requires a viable interlocutor on the opposition side. We therefore urge Russia and China, who currently do not recognise the coalition, to engage as fully with the coalition as they currently do with the regime in pursuit of the goal of transition to a democratic, inclusive, representative and peaceful Syria.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the circumstances under which the Government would recommend that the EU lift its arms embargo on Syria while President Assad remains in power.

William Hague: The UK remains seriously concerned about the transfer of weapons to a regime that uses them to attack its own civilians. The EU Sanctions package, including the EU arms embargo, will come up for renewal again on 1 March 2013. We are working closely with other EU member states to ensure maximum flexibility in the provision of assistance to the opposition National Coalition aimed at greater support for the protection of civilians, while also ensuring a strict regime aimed at preventing transfer of weapons to the Syrian Government.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likelihood of the EU changing its policy with respect to enforcing an arms embargo in Syria in the next six months.

William Hague: The formation of the Syrian National Coalition offers an opportunity to rally political and practical international support behind the opposition, with the aim of creating a credible, viable alternative to the Assad regime. The UK is working closely with other EU member states to ensure maximum flexibility in the provision of assistance to the opposition National Coalition aimed at greater support for the protection of civilians, while also ensuring a strict regime aimed at preventing transfer of weapons to the Syrian Government.

Syria

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Kurdish people in Syria on any potential peace settlement in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) met members of the Syrian opposition in London on 21 November and urged opposition representatives to unite around a common political platform that will enable the people of Syria to see a pathway to a clear alternative to dictatorship and repression. He also stressed the importance of respecting the rights of minorities, including Kurdish rights, so that all citizens are protected and have a stake in the future of the country.
	The UK continues to urge both the National Coalition and Syrian Kurdish leaders to ensure substantive Kurdish participation in the National Coalition, consistent with the coalition's avowed inclusive and democratic aims. Jon Wilks, the UK Special Representative to the opposition, remains in close touch with those Syrian Kurdish opposition representatives committed to those aims. It is important that all Syrians work together with the common goal of transition to a Syria where the interests of all communities are protected.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 578W, on Western Sahara, if he will make representations to the Polisario Front so that any money received in respect of fishing opportunities is used for the benefit of the local population.

Alistair Burt: As the de facto administering power of Western Sahara. Morocco is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities in Western Sahara are conducted to the benefit of, and in the interests of, the people of Western Sahara. The UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Ambassador Ross, to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to address issues regarding the use of the territory's natural resources.
	Negotiations on a new Protocol to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Commission and Morocco are ongoing.

Western Sahara

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he considers the non self-governing territory of Western Sahara to be a full constituent part of Morocco; and for what reasons his Department's website deems it as such.

Alistair Burt: The United Kingdom considers the status of Western Sahara to be undetermined. We consider Morocco to be the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, which remains on the UN's list of non-self-governing territories.
	The UK fully supports the UN-led efforts to achieve a lasting and mutually-acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

HEALTH

Air Ambulance Services

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department holds data on the number of occasions on which air ambulances in England have been unable to fulfil requests to transport patients as a result of poor weather conditions or visibility in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: No. This information is not collected centrally.

Air Ambulance Services: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the suitability of air ambulance capacity in Cumbria and neighbouring areas; and whether his Department has made an assessment of future capacity requirements for air ambulance services in Cumbria and neighbouring areas.

Anna Soubry: No assessment of the current or future suitability of air ambulance capacity in Cumbria has been made.
	Current and future capacity assessments are made locally.

Ambulance Services: East of England

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls received by the East of England Ambulance Service in each of the last three complete months were initially graded as being category A and were subsequently downgraded to a category of lesser priority.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not collect data on such calls received by the East of England Ambulance Service.
	My hon. Friend may wish to approach the East of England Ambulance Service, which might hold this information.

Ambulance Services: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many days ambulances were drafted into Preston because there were no ambulances available in that city during 2011; and how many ambulances were tasked from Preston to assist other areas in the UK in the same period.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not held by the Department. The configuration of ambulance services in the north of England is a matter for the local national health service.

Colorectal Cancer

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made on the introduction of flexible sigmoidoscopy into the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Anna Soubry: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, set out a commitment to invest £60 million over four years to incorporate flexible sigmoidoscopy (bowel scope screening—BSS) into the NHS bowel cancer-screening programme. Experts have estimated that the introduction of BSS will prevent around 3,000 cancers every year and save thousands of lives when fully rolled out.
	The information technology system to support BSS is due to be delivered in March 2013, when we expect pilot sites to begin inviting men and women aged 55 for this test. The pilot sites are: Norwich; South of Tyne; St Mark's, London; Surrey; West Kent; and Wolverhampton. Up to 20 other sites are preparing to implement BSS as part of the first wave of roll-out from October 2013.
	The plan remains to meet the strategy commitment of achieving 30% roll-out across England by March 2014 and 60% roll-out by March 2015. It is envisaged that full roll-out will be achieved in 2016.

Community Nurses: Harrow

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2012, on nursing levels: London, for what reason Harrow primary care trust employed no district nurses in September 2011 and September 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The arrangements for employment of district nurses are a matter for local national health service organisations, as they are best placed to assess the health needs of their local community and must have the freedom to deploy staff in ways appropriate to local conditions.
	We are advised that Harrow primary care trust no longer provides local NHS services and that the district nurses service in Harrow is now provided by the Integrated Care Organisation, run by Ealing Hospital NHS Trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact the trust responsible for this information.

Defibrillators

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the availability of defibrillators in the UK.

Anna Soubry: The Department has made no such assessment.
	From February 2007, responsibility for sustaining the legacy of the National Defibrillator Programme was devolved to national health service ambulance trusts.

Diabetes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of spending on diabetes services in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Anna Soubry: It is not possible to provide a break down of national health service expenditure on diabetes at constituency or county level as the information is not collected centrally.
	The Department's programme budgeting data provide an estimate for expenditure on diabetes of £1.55 billion in 2010-11. This figure does not capture all the expenditure on diabetes.

Diabetes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults were diagnosed with diabetes in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Anna Soubry: The following tables show data taken from the Quality and Outcomes Framework, which details the number of patients registered per general practitioner (GP) practice with a diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes on 31 March 2010, 2011 and 2012.
	
		
			 Barnsley Primary Care Trust (PC T ) 
			  Number of GP practices List size Estimated list size aged 17+ Number of patients ages 17+ on diabetes register Prevalence (percentage) 
			 31 March 2010 (2009-10) 46 244,024 196,437 11,989 6.10 
			 31 March 2011 (2010-11) 46 245,420 197,731 12,620 6.38 
			 31 March 2012 (2011-12) 40 245,317 197,569 13,029 6.59 
		
	
	
		
			 South Yorkshire PCTs 
			  Number of GP practices List size Estimated list size aged 17+ Number of patients ages 17+ on diabetes register Prevalence (percentage) 
			 31 March 2010 (2009-10) 224 1,372,090 1,100,614 64,000 5.81 
			 31 March 2011 (2010-11) 222 1,377,660 1,105,711 67,068 6.07 
			 31 March 2012 (2011-12) 209 1,373,847 1,102,674 69,159 6.27 
			 Note: The South Yorkshire data are aggregated figures from the following four PCTs: Barnsley PCT, Doncaster PCT, Rotherham PCT, Sheffield PCT. 
		
	
	
		
			 England 
			  Number of GP practices List size Estimated list size aged 17+ Number of patients ages 17+ on diabetes register Prevalence (percentage) 
			 31 March 2010 (2009-10) 8,305 54,836,561 44,042,402 2,338,813 5.31 
			 31 March 2011 (2010-11) 8,245 55,169,643 44,291,915 2,455,937 5.54 
			 31 March 2012 (2011-12) 8,123 55,525,732 44,569,825 2,566,436 5.76

Drugs: Death

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who have died as a result of taking legal highs in (a) England and (b) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: In respect of substances which have in recent years become subject to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has collected information about deaths relating to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursor gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), piperazines (benzylpiperazine— BZP and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine—TFMPP), cathinones such as mephedrone and desoxypipradrol.
	The following table provides the number of deaths relating to these substances for England and Wales, and the North West region in each year from 2009 to 2011 (the latest year available). Figures have not been provided for Lancashire in line with the ONS guidance for protecting confidentiality within birth and death statistics.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths related to drug poisoning where GHB/GBL, BZP/TFMPP, a cathinone or desoxypipradrol was mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales, North West 2009-11 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			 Deaths (persons) 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 England and Wales 25 22 29 
			 North West 2 3 4 
			 (1) Based on boundaries as of August 2012. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3) Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. (4) Cause of death related to drug poisoning was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). The ICD-10 codes for drug poisoning are: F11-F16, F18-F19—Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) X40-X44—Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X60-X64—Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X85—Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances Y10-Y14—Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent. (5) Figures presented here may not agree with figures presented for each substance separately as where more than one drug is mentioned on a death certificate the death will be counted in more than one category if the substances are presented separately. Source: Office for National Statistics

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to paragraph 100 of the Home Affairs Committee’s Ninth Report of Session 2012-13, on Drugs: Breaking the cycle, HC 184, what plans he has to update relevant clinical guidance for prescribers to increase the emphasis on buprenorphine relative to methadone prescription;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that prescribers, members of health and wellbeing boards and other local decision-makers have information on all opiate substitution therapies and are able to make informed decisions on their availability locally;
	(3)  if he will take steps to ensure that all forms of opiate substitution therapies are available to prescribers and can be selected on the basis of their clinical effectiveness, taking into consideration their safety profile for the (a) individual patient and (b) potential risk of their misuse and diversion.

Anna Soubry: The Government will respond in full to the Home Affairs Committee’s report, ‘Drugs: Breaking the cycle’, in due course.
	Key existing advice on opiate substitution therapy is contained in the Department’s guidance, “Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management”, which has already been placed in the Library, and in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal of methadone and buprenorphine, “Methadone and buprenorphine for the management of opioid dependence”. A copy of the appraisal has been placed in the Library.

Food: Hygiene

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing regulations on food preparation in preventing cross-contamination by staff who also handle money;
	(2)  if he will amend regulations on food preparation to ensure that food-handling and handling of cash are separated.

Anna Soubry: The European Union food hygiene regulations, which have applied directly in all EU member states since January 2006, require food business operators to have in place hygiene procedures appropriate to the nature and risks of the business to ensure food is handled safely. The regulations also require persons working in food handling areas to have a high degree of personal cleanliness.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers that further legislation regarding the handling of money by food handlers would not have a significant public health benefit and could place disproportionate burdens on small businesses. While in many retail establishments the handling of money is kept separate from the food handling area, it is widely understood that this is not always practical, especially for small businesses. The FSA's advice emphasises the need for good hygiene practices and the avoidance of cross-contamination.
	The FSA keeps under review all issues regarding the potential contamination of food and is not aware of evidence of food borne illness in the United Kingdom caused by the handling of money and subsequent cross-contamination to food. The FSA does not therefore currently consider that this is a priority issue for research.

General Practitioners

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to renew the framework governing the accreditation and re-accreditation of GPs with a special interest. [R]

Daniel Poulter: General practitioners with a special interest continue to play an important part in delivering specialised services in community settings. The current framework for accreditation and re-accreditation is under review and decisions on arrangements from April 2013 will be announced in due course.

General Practitioners

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department gives to primary care trusts on managing appointments systems at GP surgeries.

Daniel Poulter: It is for each general practitioner (GP) practice to decide how it manages their appointment systems.
	In 2009, the Department supported the NHS Practice Management Network in publishing a guide for GP practices (‘Improving access, responding to patients’), which included practical advice on managing appointment systems.
	A copy has already been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners: Harrow

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints he received on waiting times to see a GP in the Harrow primary care trust area in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received in 2010-11 complaining about waiting times to see a GP in the Harrow primary care trust area. No correspondence on this subject was received in 2011-12.

Health Foods

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets on introducing discount pricing on healthier foods.

Anna Soubry: We have not had any recent discussions with supermarkets on introducing discount pricing on healthier foods. The Responsibility Deal Food Network programme for later this year includes work on a possible voluntary pledge on promoting healthier food.
	The Responsibility Deal pledges to help reduce calorie consumption and to increase the intake of fruit and vegetables include scope for companies to promote healthier foods.

Health Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the establishment of clinical senates; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Good progress is being made with establishing the 12 geographical teams that will support both strategic clinical networks and clinical senates in the new health system. The teams include the role of Senate Manager, and appointment to these posts is currently under way.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will be publishing a document describing the role, membership, working and accountability arrangements for clinical senates early in the new year.
	Clinical senates covering the whole of England will be in place from 1 April 2013.

Health Services

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what process Clinical Reference Groups for specialised services have used for developing recommendations on commissioning new medical technologies from April 2013;
	(2)  whether the recommendations of the Clinical Reference Groups providing clinical advice on specialised services will be assessed against the principles and recommendations of Innovation, Health and Wealth.

Daniel Poulter: Innovation is a central component of the national health service. Innovation Health and Wealth (Department of Health 2011) outlined the NHS commitment to innovation, both in its support for research and the rapid adoption and diffusion of the best, transformative, most innovative ideas, products, services and clinical practices. It recognised that specialised services commissioning was in a position to identify those technologies (with appropriate safety accreditation) with the potential to deliver high impact change, and to rapidly test, trial and evaluate their value to the NHS. This would enable suitable patients to have early access to innovative technologies, which would also support the creation of a more robust evidence base.
	In order to accelerate the introduction of new technologies to the NHS, a dedicated Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) is being established. This fund is in its final stages of development and evaluations supported by the SSCIF in 2013 will generate additional cost, quality and activity data needed to inform commissioning decisions. An advisory board has been established to oversee this process through horizon scanning for the best innovations and funding NHS trusts to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the new technologies. If it can be demonstrated that the technologies can deliver significant improvements in quality or value they can then be adopted and diffused at pace and scale across the NHS.
	The Clinical Reference Groups will have a key role to play in innovation through horizon scanning, identifying and short listing potential innovations within each service area, utilising a predefined prioritisation matrix. These will then be evaluated through a formal process and agreed by the advisory board. The commissioning process will be used to actively improve the uptake of innovations and best practices, and to foster cooperation between providers in regional health economies.

Maternity Services

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of births in England took place in freestanding midwife-led maternity units in the last year for which figures are available; and whether he has set any targets in respect of this proportion for future years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the safety of mothers and new-born children in freestanding midwife-led maternity units compared to births that take place in obstetrics units.

Daniel Poulter: The ‘Birthplace’ research study, funded by the Department was published in November 2011 providing, for the first time, evidence about the expected outcomes for women and their babies at ‘low-risk’ of complications at the start of care in labour for births planned at home, in a midwifery-led unit or in a hospital unit with obstetric services. The evidence provided by this national cohort study supports the policy of offering healthy ‘low-risk’ women, who meet the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Intrapartum care guideline criteria for a ‘low-risk’ birth, a choice of birth setting. The study can be found at:
	www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace
	There are no targets in respect of the proportion of births in England taking place in freestanding midwifery-led maternity units.
	The information on the proportion of births in England taking place in freestanding midwifery-led maternity units is not collected centrally by the Department. However, data on the organisation of maternity care in 2007 was collected as part of the maternity care review conducted by the Healthcare Commission in 2007. This was a mandatory survey of all trusts providing maternity care in England. The results from this survey were published as part of the ‘Birthplace’ research study and data on the number of births in maternity units is presented in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of births in maternity units (excluding births at home), year ending 31 March 2007 
			  Freestanding midwifery unit Alongside midwifery unit Obstetric unit Total births in maternity units 
			 Total births (Number) 11,261 19,192 590,859 621,312 
			 Proportion of births (Percentage) 1.1 3.1 95.1 100 
			 Source: Mapping maternity care: the configuration of maternity care in England—Birthplace in England research programme. Final report part 3.

Maternity Services

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of cost to the NHS of planned births that take place in (a) freestanding midwife-led maternity units compared with (b) obstetrics units.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not available because the cost to national health service commissioners of maternity units and obstetrics units is not reported separately to the Department.

Mental Health Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the data used to generate the map of primary care trust adult investment per weighted head for 2010-11 and 2011-12 in figure 22 of the National Survey of Investment in Mental Health; and what the reasons are for the difference between the figures in the two years.

Norman Lamb: The direct investment data (excluding capital charges, indirect costs and overheads) for 2010-11 and 2011-12 used to generate the map of primary care trust (PCT) investment, has been placed in the Library. These figures are reported by PCTs. No information is held centrally about the reasons for different spending decisions between the years at PCT level.

Mesothelioma

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which drugs NICE is assessing to determine their effectiveness in treating mesothelioma; when he expects NICE to report on such drugs; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will ask NICE to assess the effectiveness of applying chemotherapy through the groin to treat Mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is not currently appraising the use of any drugs for the treatment of mesothelioma.
	However, NICE issued guidance to the national health service in January 2008 on the use of pemetrexed for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, which recommended the drug as a treatment option subject to certain criteria.
	There are no current plans to ask NICE to develop guidance on the application of chemotherapy through the groin to treat mesothelioma.

NHS: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to ensure that patient care is not affected by clinical commissioning groups reaching their budget limit.

Anna Soubry: By establishing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), we are putting clinicians at the heart of decision making for their local community. CCGs will be empowered to design and deliver care based upon the needs and choices of their patients and to secure high quality and outcomes within the resources available. The NHS Commissioning Board will oversee and support CCGs to ensure that clinical and financial risks are managed appropriately.

NHS: Pensions

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether employees being transferred from the NHS to outside organisations under the TUPE regulations will retain their NHS pension.

Daniel Poulter: Following consultation launched in 2011, in July this year the Chief Secretary to the Treasury confirmed proposals to implement a revised Fair Deal that would allow all public service staff who are transferred under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) to retain access to their current pension arrangements. This means that national health service staff transferring will be able to retain access to the NHS Pension scheme.

NHS: Working Hours

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs and additional staffing required to enable hospitals to take on non-emergency tests and treatments at weekends.

Anna Soubry: A national costing/staffing model has not been developed. This reflects the fact that where specific services are being redesigned in the national health service to provide care to patients on a Saturday or Sunday, this is being done in different ways, reflecting specific local circumstances and needs.
	In ‘Everyone Counts : Planning for Patients 2013-14’, the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) has made an offer to move the NHS towards routine services being available seven days a week. The NHS CB will shortly be establishing a forum, to be chaired by the National Medical Director, to identify how the NHS might offer better access to routine services seven days a week. The forum will begin by focusing on improving diagnostics and urgent and emergency care. The planning guidance commits the forum to publishing a report setting out its findings, including the consequences of the non-availability of clinical services seven days a week, in the autumn of 2013.
	The Healthcare Financial Management Association has committed to working with the NHS CB, commencing in January 2013, to undertake financial analysis so that the costs and benefits of different changes associated with the introduction of seven day working in the NHS can be properly evaluated.

North of England Cardiovascular Network

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the adequacy of the spending plans of the North of England Cardiovascular Network in 2013-14; what meetings he has had with the North of England Cardiovascular Network to discuss its future plans; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that changes in the budget of the North of England Cardiovascular Network for 2013-14 do not adversely affect training and education, private and public involvement, and information and service improvement.

Anna Soubry: The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) has set out its plans to establish and support strategic clinical networks to improve health services for specific conditions or patient groups, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Strategic clinical networks will be established from 1 April 2013 and will build on the success of network activity, which, over the last 10 years, has led to significant improvements in the delivery of patient care. The NHS CB has allocated funding of £42 million for strategic clinical networks and clinical senates in 2013-14.
	It is for local health communities and the NHS CB to determine the number and size of networks, based on patient flows and clinical relationships, and to deploy their resources appropriately.

Obesity: Surgery

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria each primary care trust uses to decide whether to provide bariatric surgery for obese patients.

Anna Soubry: Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning health care services to meet the needs of their population including bariatric surgery. To support and guide them, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has produced clinical guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children which includes guidance on bariatric surgery.

Soft Drinks

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent research his Department has commissioned or undertaken on the health effects of high energy drinks;
	(2)  what recent research his Department has commissioned or undertaken on the health effects of high energy drinks on young people.

Anna Soubry: The safety of high caffeine drinks, often termed “energy drinks”, was assessed by the European Scientific Committee on Food in 2003. Their opinion was that high caffeine drinks caused increased excitability, irritability, nervousness or anxiety in some people who drank them, particularly if those people were normally low consumers of caffeine.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers the effects of caffeine are transitory and without permanent health effects and their advice is that children, or other people sensitive to caffeine, should only consume caffeine in moderation.
	The independent expert Committee on Toxicity is currently considering the potential interaction between caffeine and alcohol and is expected to report early in 2013.
	Given the evaluations already undertaken, FSA has not undertaken any recent research specifically on the health effects of high caffeine energy drinks. It is continuing to monitor the situation and look closely at any new evidence that becomes available.

Speech Therapy: Training

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the number of individuals training to become speech and language therapists in England.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect figures on the number of students qualifying in speech and language therapy. However, we do collect information on the number of training places commissioned each year.
	Strategic health authorities are responsible for commissioning speech and language therapy training places. The actual number of training places commissioned in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Speech and language therapy training commissions, 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Commissions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Speech and language therapists 804 782 749 
			 Source: Multi professional education and training quarterly monitoring returns. 
		
	
	2012-13 commissions will not be available until May 2013.

HOME DEPARTMENT

UK Visitors: Economic Growth

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to enable business and tourist visitors to contribute to UK economic growth.

Theresa May: The Government supports economic growth by delivering an effective visa service which processed almost 2 million applications for visitor visas in 2011. We exceeded our commitment to process 90% within 15 working days.
	We have launched priority services—providing a five-day visa service, premium lounges for high value customers and out of hours appointments at visa application centres.

Arrest Warrants: Hungary

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European arrest warrants were issued between the UK and Hungary (a) in each year since 2005 and (b) in 2012 to date.

Mark Harper: holding answer 19 December 2012
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for Scotland are the designated UK authorities responsible for processing European arrest warrants (EAWs). Information is held on Part 1 cases (persons wanted from the UK by another member state) and Part 3 cases (persons wanted by the UK from another member state). The table gives figures for the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial years.
	Due to the way data were recorded prior to 1 April 2009, it is not possible to provide data on the number of warrants issued to each European Union member state prior to this date.
	It should be emphasised that not every Part 1 request issued to the UK turns out to have any connection to the UK. Some EU member states circulate EAWs to every other member state.
	
		
			 EAW requests issued to and by the UK  for the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial years 
			 Country /year Number of Part 1 requests issued to the UK Number of Part 3 requests issued by UK 
			 2011-12 (up until 31 March 2012)   
			 Hungary 195 0 
			    
			 2010- 11   
			 Hungary 276 1 
			    
			 2009-10   
			 Hungary 72 2

Asylum

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time for detained fast track applications is; and how many applications have exceeded the UK Border Agency target of three days in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 5 December 2012
	In February 2012 the chief inspector published his report into the detained fast track process. At the time of his report there was an indicative timescale of three days to decision. However, his recommendation was that the agency “Increases the accuracy of its published guidance by changing its timescales for interviews and decisions in line with the average time taken". We accepted this recommendation and published policy now lays out indicative timescales for making decisions. For detained non-suspensive appeal cases, the indicative timescale from entry to the process in the appropriate Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) to decision service will be around 10-14 days. For detained fast track cases, the respective indicative timescale will usually be quicker. The timescales are not rigid and must be varied when fairness or case developments require it.
	We are unable to provide figures for processing times within the detained fast track process as such statistics are not held in a format that is compatible with National Statistics protocols and data is not recorded in a format which would allow us to search easily for this information. However, local information shows that we are compliant with these timescales.

Crime Prevention

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Community safety fund budget was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what the planned budget is for 2013-14.

Jeremy Browne: The Community Safety Fund budget was:
	
		
			  £ 
			 (a) 2010-11 74,337,541 
			 (b) 2011-12 59,299,999 
			 (c) 2012-13 30,000,010 
		
	
	There is no planned budget for 2013-14 because this fund will cease at the end of this financial year. Instead, in 2013-14 Police and Crime Commissioners will receive funding worth £90 million from a transitional and un-ring fenced fund (also to be called 'Community Safety Fund').

Entry Clearances

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, Entry Clearance Decision-Making: A Global Review, December 2010-June 2011, what steps are being taken to address findings in the report that applicants are being refused entry clearance for failing to provide information, which they could not have been aware they needed when submitting their application.

Mark Harper: The agency has taken action in response to the cases highlighted by the Independent Chief Inspector in the report “Entry Clearance Decision Making: A Global Review”. It is not UK Border Agency policy to refuse applications solely for failure to provide specific documents, unless they are specified in the Immigration Rules.
	To assist applicants, the agency has produced guidance detailing the types of documents/evidence that applicants may wish to submit in support of their visa applications. Specific guidance is available for the vast majority of visa application types, and has been translated into six languages: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, Thai and Turkish.

Entry Clearances

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process was followed in taking the decision to remove the right of appeal for refused family visa applications; and what steps she has taken to improve decision-making on such applications.

Mark Harper: We consulted on the removal of the family visit visa appeal right between July and October 2011 as part of the Family Migration Consultation. Of the 3,400 responses to the question concerning these appeal rights, 39% agreed that beyond race discrimination and human rights grounds, the family visit visa appeal right should not be retained. 28% disagreed and 33% gave no opinion. The formulation of the policy was accompanied by an impact assessment and a policy equality statement (which addresses any equality issues) published in April 2012.
	The UK Border Agency takes decision quality seriously and continuously seeks to improve it. A programme of work has been set up to improve decision quality across the visa operation, covering all application types, including family visitors. This includes training, performance monitoring and continuous feedback loops.
	Visa decision-making is subject to rigorous internal and external oversight, including by the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, which, feed into the decision quality programme.

Entry Clearances

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the right of appeal has been removed for refused family visa applications; and what weight was given in this decision to the proportion of such appeals which are upheld in the appellant's favour.

Mark Harper: The current family visit visa appeal right no longer serves its intended purpose. Family visitor appeals make up over a third of all immigration appeals and are a disproportionate burden. A right of appeal will remain on human rights and race discrimination grounds.
	Analysis by the UK Border Agency has shown that the main reason why family visit appeals are successful at appeal is that new evidence is provided, at the appeal. Rather than continue to have the appeals system make decisions on new information, applicants will be able to reapply and provide any further information to entry clearance officers.

Entry Clearances: Indian Subcontinent

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library the advice given to the UK Border Agency on how to contact British posts in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Islamabad, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka and Colombo in out-of-hours emergency situations such as death or serious illness;
	(2)  what arrangements have been put in place at British posts in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Islamabad, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka and Colombo for out of hours contact relating to visa applications in emergency situations such as death or serious illness; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what guidance has been given to VFS offices in the Indian sub-continent on dealing with visa applications in out-of-hours emergency situations.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 December 2012
	Emergency situations can be dealt with through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Response Centre. The Global Response Centre is reached through the Foreign and Commonwealth 24 hour switchboard in the UK, tel. 020 7008 1500.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the applicants who applied for sponsor status between 1 July and 30 September 2012 have now had a decision made on their application by points-based system tier.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 December 2012
	The proportion of the applicants who applied for tier 2 sponsor status between 1 July 2012 and 30 September 2012 that have now had a decision made on their application by points-based system tier is 89%.
	The proportion of the applicants who applied for tier 4 sponsor status between 1 July 2012 and 30 September 2012 that have now had a decision made on their application by points-based system tier is 80%.
	The proportion of the applicants who applied for tier 5 sponsor status between 1 July 2012 and 30 September 2012 that have now had a decision made on their application by points-based system tier is 92%.
	The total proportion of the applicants who applied for sponsor status between 1 July 2012 and 30 September 2012 that have now had a decision made on their application by points-based system tier is 89%.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how her Department balances the requirements of national security, legal process and fairness to the applicant when assessing visa requests by Pakistani nationals; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: All applications are considered on their individual merits in line with the Immigration Rules, this includes applications from Pakistani nationals. The Immigration Rules are designed to ensure we have a fair and robust system that both welcomes genuine applicants and keeps out those who may seek to abuse the immigration system.
	The UK Border Agency uses risk analysis when considering visa applications. That approach provides for additional scrutiny and checking of high risk applications to ensure suitability against the Immigration Rules.

Human Trafficking

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many legal actions against her Department have been initiated to dispute negative conclusive grounds decisions reached through the National Referral Mechanism in each year since its inception; and what the cost to the public purse of such actions has been in each such year.

Mark Harper: Judicial reviews of negative conclusive grounds decisions referred under the National Referral Mechanism can be broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Cases referred to the NRM Negative conclusive grounds decisions challenged at judicial review Cost of defending decisions at judicial review + (£) 
			 2009+ 706 0 0 
			 2010 710 0 0 
			 2011 946 0 0 
			 2012(2) (2)530 2 4,905 
			 Total to date 2,892 2 4,905 
			 (1) 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2009 only. (2 )Published data (1 January 2012 to 30 June 2012 only). (3) This figure represents costs billed and therefore does not necessarily represent the total cost of the cases. It is provisional and subject to change.

Human Trafficking

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, columns 243-4W, on human trafficking, what the legal costs to the Government of the 17 decisions challenged at judicial review were.

Mark Harper: The Government's legal costs to date for the 17 human trafficking National Referral Mechanism decisions challenged at judicial review between 1 April 2009 and 29 October 2012, has been £91,376.
	This figure represents costs billed and therefore does not necessarily represent the total cost of the cases. It is provisional and subject to change.

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Chairs the Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking has had since it was first established; and who those chairs were.

Mark Harper: Two chairs, the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), and myself.

Immigrants: Detainees

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the operation of the family returns process of planned reductions to legal aid from April 2013; and how many families she estimates will access legal representation for the first time upon being detained at Cedars prior to their planned enforced removal.

Mark Harper: We do not expect the changes to legal aid to affect the family returns process. Asylum cases including those in the family returns process, will continue to qualify for legal aid funding when the reforms to legal aid in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 are implemented from April next year.
	In the period January 2011 to September 2012, a total of 192 families were removed under the family returns process of which only 43 were non asylum seeking families. Legal aid will remain available for all immigration detention cases including those entering Cedars. At Cedars, families are advised of their right to obtain legal representation, and how to access it if they are not represented. It is therefore considered unlikely that families, having reached the ensured stage of the family returns process, will be accessing legal representation for the first time on entering Cedars.
	All figures quoted are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
	Figures relate to main applicants and dependants.
	Figures may include applicants that made voluntary departures while in the family return process.

Immigration: Applications

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications there were that were work in progress for temporary and permanent in-country immigration applications by case type (a) as at 30 June 2012 and (b) in each of the previous two months.

Mark Harper: holding answer 18 December 2012
	The data have already been provided to and published by the Home Affairs Select Committee. The following table extract shows the number of in-country cases in progress on the last working day of each month in quarter 2 of 2012:
	
		
			 Workstream  April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 
			 Temporary migration Family route 19,002 20,049 20,768 
			  Employment 20,151 20,237 19,789 
			  Study 16,688 15,553 15,734 
			  Visiting the UK 417 393 371 
			  Protection 911 927 968 
			  Sponsor license 648 622 757 
			  ECAA 1,147 1,427 1,470 
			  A2—Worker cards and registration certificates 9,602 9,530 9,217 
			  Travel documents 3,716 4,882 5,475 
			  Temporary migration total 72,282 73,620 74,549 
			 Permanent migration British citizen 32,382 37,224 35,562 
			  Permanent resident 17,516 16,625 16,458 
			  European casework (Euro) 20,802 22,345 24,939 
			  Permanent migration total 70,700 76,194 76,959 
			 Total work in progress  142,982 149,814 151,508

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she plans to answer the letter sent to her by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 5 November 2012 with regard to Nyla Qadir;
	(2)  when she plans to answer the letter sent to her by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 6 November 2012 with regard to Mr M Javsif;
	(3)  when she plans to answer the letter sent to her by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 31 October 2012 with regard to Ms M Kujur.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 17 December 2012.

Organised Crime: Young People

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the Government's report, Ending Gang and Youth Violence, published in November 2011, page 58, how much of the £10 million of funding was distributed to each area identified as having significant gang and youth violence; and on what date each such payment was made.

Jeremy Browne: The ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence’ report set out the Government's plans to reprioritise up to £10 million to support up to 30 areas “most affected by gangs and youth violence”. 29 areas were identified to receive funding. The amount allocated to each area is based on the size of each local authority's population of 10 to 24-year-olds. The breakdown of the amounts allocated to each area is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/provisional-funding-allocations
	The grant allocation is paid in two instalments. The first instalment was paid to areas in the summer and the second is currently being processed for payment in late December or early January. This is subject to receipt of completed payment requests from each area.

Organised Crime: Young People

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the Government's report, Ending Gang and Youth Violence, published in November 2011, page 8, how much of the £10 million of funding from her Department was given to the non-statutory sector in each local area.

Jeremy Browne: The ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence’ report, published in November 2011, specified that at least half of the funding allocation to areas should go to the non-statutory sector. There will be a breakdown of how funding was allocated by each area after the end of the financial year.

Stun Guns

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Force records the number of stun guns and tasers it seizes; and how many such guns and tasers have been seized in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: holding answer 10 December 2012
	Border Force retains internal management information about the number of stun guns and tasers seized but this is not published data. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) previously published seizure data as part of their regular Autumn Performance and Departmental Reports. However, with the transfer of customs functions from HMRC to the UK Border Agency (UKBA), this publication cycle was stopped by them and not picked up by UKBA. Border Force is looking more broadly at ensuring its performance framework and published data continue to have the right focus, including in relation to seizures.
	Data was published by HMRC for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 financial years as follows:
	Between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008, there were 539 stun guns seized. Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009, there were 160 stun guns seized.
	Data published by HMRC in the HMRC Departmental Reports 2008 and 2009 are as follows. I shall place copies of both these reports in the Library of the House.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/dept-report-2008.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/dept-ann-rep09.pdf

Telephones: Disclosure of Information

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what period mobile and landline telephone billing records of contact are (a) legally required to be available and (b) generally available as a result of an inquiry under the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Damian Green: holding answer 18 December 2012
	Itemised telephone billing records are required to be retained for 12 months under the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 859). Information as to whether such records are available to law enforcement for periods beyond 12 months is not held centrally. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) does not make any requirement as to the period for which telephone billing records should be made available.

UK Border Agency

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many warrants were issued to UK Border Agency arrest teams for lawful entry into non-commercial premises in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: holding answer 10 December 2012
	This information is not readily available or held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

UK Border Agency

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she has given to UK Border Agency staff on dealing with representations by hon. Members on behalf of their constituents who are sponsors of, and are making enquiries about, relatives' visit visa or entry clearance applications.

Mark Harper: Guidance to staff in the UK Border Agency on drafting replies to MPs’ correspondence was updated in September 2012. This incorporates a section on dealing with inquiries on behalf of constituents who are sponsors or making inquiries about relatives' visas. This includes defining when a third party reply may be appropriate in line with the agency's obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

UK Border Agency

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library contact details for the Visa Services Directorate of the UK Border Agency; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 December 2012
	There is no longer a Visa Services Directorate within the UK Border Agency. The International Operations and Visa group may be contacted via
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/contact/

Written Questions

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) shortest and (b) longest time taken by her Department to answer a written parliamentary question was in (i) 2012 to date, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010.

Mark Harper: The longest and shortest time the Home Department took to answer a parliamentary question in (i) 2012 to date, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010 is set out in the following table.
	The data set out in the following table has been drawn from the internal PQ data management system, which is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010 to 2012 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_Monitoring_PQs.pdf
	
		
			 PQ answering timescales 
			 Days 2010 2011 2012 to present 
			 Longest 50 56 36 
			 Shortest 1 2 2

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to answer Question 128915 tabled on 13 November 2012 on Mosquitoes.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 20 December 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 875W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Wi-fi

Ann Clwyd: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, when all hon. Members’ offices in the House will be able to obtain wi-fi signal.

John Thurso: The parliamentary network team have started work to provide wi-fi in all Members’ offices on the estate and aim to complete this by the end of March 2013.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Members: Correspondence

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, when the Chief Executive of IPSA intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Warrington North dated 27 September 2012; and for what reason no reply has been received to date.

Charles Walker: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Andrew McDonald,  dated  20 December 2012
	I will look into the issue the hon. Member for Warrington North raises and write to her.

Members: Correspondence

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, when the Chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority intends to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Christchurch of 23 November 2012.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 20 December 2012
	Sir Ian Kennedy, the chair of IPSA, replied to the letter in question on 18 December 2012.

PRIME MINISTER

Conflict Resolution

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the inclusion of commitments to address conflict and state fragility in his international committee's work on the post-2015 development framework.

David Cameron: The High Level Panel’s work on the post-2015 development agenda is looking at all the root causes of poverty, including conflict and insecurity which are often overriding concerns for poor people.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Christopher Chope: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 18 December 2012, whether he is satisfied that the current version of the Ministerial Code reflects current practice in respect of collective ministerial responsibility.

David Cameron: I have nothing further to add.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to answer question 127846 tabled by the hon. Member for York Central on 6 November 2012 for answer on 8 November 2012.

David Cameron: I have today replied to the hon. Member’s question.

SCOTLAND

Sovereignty

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had on the process by which an independent Scotland would reapply to the EU.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers have had discussions with ministerial colleagues and officials on the issue. The Advocate-General for Scotland has discussed this with legal experts within his Legal Forum, and the question has been raised in discussions with businesses and other interested parties.
	The UK Government's view is that if Scotland were to leave the UK the most likely scenario is that it would need to seek EU membership on newly negotiated terms while the rest of the UK would continue as a member state. This view is grounded in legal and academic opinion, and it is consistent with the statements made by the President of the European Commission.

Sovereignty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on the referendum for independence; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), has discussed the referendum with the First Minister of Scotland and the Scottish Government on a number of occasions, most recently when Scotland's two Governments reached agreement on the process to ensure that there is a legal, fair and decisive referendum.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Homosexuality: Marriage

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what plans she has for legislation of gay marriage in relation to the Church in Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: holding answer 17 December 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to my Statement to the House on 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 155, in which I set out the “quadruple lock” of protections that will be included in the legislation to ensure religious organisations and individual ministers are not forced to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies against their beliefs.
	The legislation will also provide explicit protection for the Church in Wales which recognises the unique position of the Church and its duty to marry, so that it remains only applicable to opposite sex couples. The Government will continue to work closely with religious organisations, including the Church in Wales, as we prepare the legislation.

Homosexuality: Marriage

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what consideration she has given to giving the Roman Catholic Church the same legal protection as that afforded to the Church of England and the Church of Wales in her forthcoming bill on Equal Marriage; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: holding answer 17 December 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to my Statement to the House on 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 155, in which I set out the “quadruple lock” of protections that will be included in the legislation to ensure that religious organisations, including the Roman Catholic Church, and individual ministers are not forced to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies against their beliefs.
	As the established church, the Church of England is governed by its own canon law which prohibits same-sex marriage. The Government Bill will reflect canon law in order to ensure protection for the established church. This will be set out in the legislation in this way because the Church of England (and Church in Wales) has a duty to marry parishioners in their parish church, a duty which the Roman Catholic Church is not subject to. The Government will continue to work closely with religious organisations as we prepare the legislation.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable houses there are in Barnsley Central constituency.

Mark Prisk: Figures for local authority and private registered provider (housing association) stock at local authority district level can be found in Live Table 100 on this page:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	The figures include dwellings for social rent, affordable rent, intermediate rent, but may exclude those in “shared ownership”.
	Information is collected at local authority level and therefore figures at constituency level are not available.

Affordable Housing: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2012, Official Report, columns 442-3W, on affordable housing: Greater London, how much funding was provided by the Homes and Communities Agency for new, affordable homes in London in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how much funding has been provided to the Mayor of London for 2012-13 for new, affordable homes; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Funding provided by the Homes and Communities Agency for new affordable housing in London in (a) 2010-11 was £1,136 million and in (b) 2011-12 £729 million.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 442-43W, on funding provided to the Mayor of London for 2012-13.
	I would note that the new Affordable Rent model now allows for more affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and lever in more private investment. As the National Audit Office has observed:
	“The Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available”
	and
	“The Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding”
	(National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector; introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, HC465, pp.6-7).
	I also note that the Mayor's proposed Housing Strategy states:
	“£1.8 billion of public funding has been secured by the Mayor which .will unlock an estimated additional £3.7 billion of other investment for London to enable 55,000 affordable homes to be delivered between 2011-15”
	(Mayor of London, “The Revised London Housing Strategy”, December2011, p.35).

Council Housing: Suffolk

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were waiting for housing in (a) St Edmundsbury borough council area and (b) Mid Suffolk district council area in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The number of households on local authority waiting lists for each local authority is published in the Department's live tables 600, which is available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-housing-statistics-for-england-2011-to-2012
	Through the Localism Act, we have given back to councils the freedom to manage their own waiting lists. They are now able to decide who should qualify for social housing in their area, and to develop solutions which make best use of finite social housing stock.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason the Chief Fire Adviser to the Government was selected to undertake an efficiency review of fire and rescue services.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 69WS.

First Time Buyers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average deposit is needed by a first time buyer in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England.

Mark Prisk: The Department does not produce estimates of the average deposit needed for first time buyers in the Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire or England.
	However, I can refer the hon. Member to the Council of Mortgage Lenders who estimated in October 2012 that the average deposit for a first-time buyer in the UK is 20% of the sale price of the property.
	By tackling the budget deficit inherited by the previous administration, this Government is helping first time buyers by enabling them to access low interest rates.
	The Halifax's First Time Buyer Review 2012 shows that the number of first time buyers totalled 216,000 over the past year, the most since 2007.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of current practices used by local authorities to measure well-being.

Brandon Lewis: There has been no formal assessment by this Department of current practices used by local authorities to measure well-being.
	In July, the Office for National Statistics produced experimental estimates of subjective well-being for county and unitary authorities in the UK from the Annual Population Survey 2012-13:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171766_272294.pdf
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has made available estimates of well-being at the neighbourhood level, based on its statistical modelling of the Office for National Statistics survey data:
	http://opendatacommunities.org/wellbeing/map
	The purpose of these is to stimulate local debate on well-being. It is a matter for local authorities and their citizens to decide whether and how they wish to measure well-being locally.

Homelessness

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the financial wellbeing of third sector organisations specialising in working with the homeless who have signed contracts with Work programme prime providers.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Work and Pension leads on the Work programme.
	Five-year contracts give prime providers a firm basis upon which to build long-term partnerships with their specialist supply chains of local providers.

Homelessness: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 580W, on homelessness, how much funding his Department plans to spend on reducing homelessness in London in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The following table sets out the total amount of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding allocated to local authorities in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. It also sets out the total amount of funding provided to the Greater London Authority for the provision of rough sleeping services in London in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	
		
			 Preventing Homelessness Funding—London 
			 £ 
			  Local authorities Greater London Authority 
			 2010-11 24,069,720 0 
			 2011-12 35,914,500 8,450,000 
			 2012-13 35,914,500 8,450,000 
		
	
	The Homelessness Prevention Grant totals provided above are the baseline figures and exclude funding that has previously been rolled into the grant to cover local court desk provision and under occupancy and tenancy fraud and additional funding provided in year.
	In 2010-11 on top of the baseline grant we provided an additional £14,573,967 to meet homelessness pressures in London. In 2011-12, we provided London authorities with an additional £2,666,000 to tackle single homelessness and £3,013,248 to prevent repossessions.
	We also provided £6,018,070 of capital funding for London in 2010-11 under the Places of Change programme.
	From the 1 April 2012, affordable housing funding for London has been devolved to the Mayor of London. This includes £12,760,000 capital funding for the Homelessness Change programme.

Housing: Overcrowding

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in each London borough were overcrowded on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, columns 484-85W.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 443W, on local government finance, when he expects to make a statement on local government expenditure in 2013 onwards.

Brandon Lewis: The provisional Local Government Finance settlement for 2013-14 was announced by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), for statutory consultation on 19 December 2012.

Local Government Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether (a) the household benefit cap, (b) the social housing under-occupancy penalty and (c) direct payment of housing costs fall within the scope of his Department's new burdens doctrine in respect of their effect on local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 20 December 2012
	In line with the Government's new burdens doctrine the Department for Work and Pensions are responsible for carrying out new burdens assessments on policies they are implementing.

Local Government Finance

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials of his Department were involved in the production and publication of the document, 50 Ways to Save: Examples of Sensible Savings in Local Government; and how many hours such staff spent producing the document.

Brandon Lewis: A number of staff assisted with the document, but I do not consider it a good use of public resources to ask staff to fill out time sheets to answer the hon. Member's question.
	I would note that otherwise there was no substantive cost to the Department in producing the in-house, online publication.
	The document aims to give advice to councils on practical ways of cutting costs and saving taxpayers' money.

Local Government: Assets

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department will take to assist local authorities to enforce proper maintenance of land and properties.

Nicholas Boles: Local authorities have a range of powers available under planning, environmental and local government legislation to enable them to enforce the maintenance of land and buildings, including for example:
	Section 215 Town and Country Planning Act 1990: Power to deal with derelict land and buildings
	Section 197 Town and Country Planning Act 1990: Power to make tree preservation orders
	Section 225 Town and Country Planning Act 1990: Power to remove or obliterate any placard or poster displayed illegally in its area
	Sections 76-79 of the Building Act for defective premises, dangerous buildings, ruinous and dilapidated buildings and neglected sites
	Section 29 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for works on unoccupied buildings
	Sections 79-82 of the Environmental Protection Act for abatement or prohibition of a nuisance
	Listed building legislation such as Repairs and Urgent Works Notices; Completion Notices; and Compulsory Purchase Orders.
	Central Government does not have a day-to-day role in the use of these powers.

Members: Correspondence

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to reply to the letters of 23 October and 5 November 2012 from the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire on the consequences for Wychavon District Council of the application of national planning policies, including the means of measuring the existence of a five year land supply for housing.

Nicholas Boles: A reply was sent on 20 November 2012.

Mobile Homes

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on including a fit and proper person test as part of any new legislative proposals on mobile homes.

Mark Prisk: The Department received representation on including a fit and proper test in legislative proposals for mobile homes from the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, following its inquiry into the sector. The committee specifically sought views as to whether “fit and proper” licensing should be introduced and it received 250 pieces of evidence, many of which called for its introduction. At oral evidence sessions there was widespread support for its introduction, including from the trade bodies representing the industry. Its possible introduction, through secondary legislation, was recommended by the committee in its report published in June 2012 and the Government accepted this recommendation. This requirement is now included in the Mobile Homes Bill, which is currently awaiting second reading in the other place.
	Prior to the Select Committee's inquiry the Department received representation for the test's introduction from a number of sources, including individuals, members of parliament and the all-party parliamentary group on mobile homes.

Parish Councils: Council Tax

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure any rebate to parish councils under the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 2012 is ringfenced; and if he will amend the regulations in favour of parish councils to address that matter .

Brandon Lewis: We consulted on this broad issue last year.
	The Government has written to all billing authorities and provided the guidance at annex B of “Localising support for Council Tax—Council Tax base and funding for local precepting authorities: Government response to the outcome of consultation”.
	The guidance sets out that in allocating the local precepting authority funding to billing authorities it is Government's clear expectation that they will work with parish and town councils to pass down funding so that precepts can be reduced, reflecting reductions in their council tax base.

Planning Permission

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much revenue each local authority obtained from (a) planning applications and (b) section 106 agreements in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Nicholas Boles: The revenue obtained by each local authority from planning applications for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in the table which has been placed in the Library of the House. Planning services are also funded thorough formula grant. Section 106 agreements are sought, negotiated and applied at local authority level. There is no national record of revenue obtained through section 106 agreements by individual local authorities.

Private Rented Housing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the housing stock in each parliamentary constituency is in the private rented sector.

Don Foster: Data released from the 2011 census shows the proportion of households in private rented accommodation at local authority level. Tenure information is presented in table KS402EW. The private rented tenure is split into the two categories; rented from a landlord or letting agency and rented other, available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html

Private Rented Housing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of those on housing waiting lists were renting privately owned properties in each year since 1982.

Don Foster: This information is not collected centrally.

Private Rented Housing: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of households are privately rented in Barnsley Central constituency.

Mark Prisk: Data released from the 2011 Census shows the proportion of households in private rented accommodation at local authority level. Tenure information is presented in table KS402EW. The private rented tenure is split into the two categories; rented from a landlord or letting agency and rented other.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html

Private Rented Housing: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of private sector tenants in each London borough that have been re-located (a) within the borough, (b) within Greater London and (c) outside Greater London in each month since April 2012.

Don Foster: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold the information requested.
	While local authorities have powers enabling them to take action against private sector landlords, to protect both tenants and neighbourhoods from poor property condition and management, they do not have any powers to force private sector tenants to re-locate.

Property Development

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to encourage better design in new property developments.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government's planning policies on design. It makes clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning and should contribute positively to making places better for people. Specifically it also sets out that: permission should be refused for development of poor design; great weight should be given to outstanding or innovative designs; proposals that have evolved to take account of the views of the community should be looked on more favourably; and local planning authorities should have local design review arrangements in place.
	In addition, we are currently funding Design Council Cabe to carry out, and further develop, design review services that enable developers and local authorities to submit schemes, at the pre-application stage, to an independent panel of design experts who provide constructive feedback on how the scheme could be improved.
	We have also supported the development of a design checklist, known as Building for Life, that is promoted by the Home Builders Federation and the Design Council as a helpful reference tool that can be used at the pre-application stage to help frame discussions about the design of a new housing scheme.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to my recent speech on planning, localism and design, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/town-and-country-planning-association-conference-speech

Property: British Nationals Abroad

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans his Department has to ensure that land and property owners who live overseas are required to maintain their properties in the UK to an acceptable standard.

Mark Prisk: Responsibility for maintaining a property rests with the owner of that property, whether they live in this country or overseas.
	Where a property owner is not maintaining the property, local authorities have a number of powers to serve notice on the owner and/or take direct action if the owner does not take the action(s) required by the notice. I am arranging for a list of the most relevant powers to be placed in the Library of the House.
	The Government considers that these powers are sufficient to enable local authorities to deal with the problems that are caused by properties that are not maintained and there are no plans to introduce further requirements on overseas property owners.

Public Houses

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of pubs that were turned into supermarkets in (a) each year between 2000 and 2011 and (b) 2012 to date;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the planning regime; and whether changes could be made so that premises changing from a pub to a supermarket would require planning permission;
	(3)  what support his Department is providing to local authorities to help them use Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to protect community amenities.
	(4)  what recent estimate he has made of the potential compensation liability associated with a local authority using Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to prevent a pub being converted into a supermarket;
	(5)  how many councils have used Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to prevent a pub being converted into a supermarket in the last 10 years

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 20 December 2012
	Buildings used as pubs and shops are in different classes within the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended). However, there are permitted development rights which allow a pub to convert to a shop without the need to submit a planning application and so any such conversion would not necessarily be recorded. As this is a local matter, no central estimate has been made of the number of conversions.
	As part of a review of change of use, we published a consultation in July 2012 on making better use of existing buildings, and are now considering responses received.
	Where there is a need to control specific development, the local authority can put in place an article 4 direction in consultation with the local community. Detailed guidance on the application of article 4 directions can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5679/2160020.pdf
	The potential for compensation liability will vary depending on the content of the article 4 direction and the area. In reaching decisions about bringing in article 4 directions, local authorities will have to make a judgment on whether the benefits of taking action outweigh the potential costs. We have been notified of one proposed article 4 direction to restrict the permitted development rights for a pub to change to retail, financial and professional services and restaurant uses. We are not aware of any local authority that currently has an article 4 direction in place restricting the conversion of pubs to supermarkets.
	More broadly, pubs do not turn into supermarkets because of the planning system. Rather, the key issue is that pubs may close and the premises are sold because they are not economically viable. In that context, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 610W, on the steps the Government is taking to support community pubs—including tackling unfair competition by some supermarkets by selling alcohol below cost price.
	Moreover, one of the public policy objectives that we also need to consider is avoiding premises standing empty. Disproportionate restrictions on change of use would result in more empty buildings, harming local amenity and the broader local economy.

Right to Buy Scheme

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of whether councils are informing social tenants of their right to buy.

Mark Prisk: Councils have a statutory duty to inform their tenants of the Right to Buy and to provide information to help their tenants decide whether to exercise this right. I would expect all local authorities with social housing stock to take this responsibility seriously.
	A Right to Buy road show is an excellent way to ensure that tenants are both informed about the scheme and are given the information they need to achieve their aspiration of home ownership. My Department is offering support to all councils who wish to hold a road show and I invite my hon. Friend's council, Crawley borough council, to take up this offer. I shall be attending one of these road shows myself.

Right to Buy Scheme: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social tenants have bought their homes under right to buy in Barnsley Central constituency.

Mark Prisk: Figures for local authority housing sales at local authority district level can be found in Live Table 648b on this page:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales
	Information is collected at local authority level and therefore figures at constituency level are not available. There have been over 14,000 right to buy and other council house sales in Barnsley District since 1979.

Shops

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations received a financial benefit from the recent pop-up shop at Eland house.

Mark Prisk: The pop-up shop at Eland house is operated by StartUp Britain, a not for profit company launched by the Prime Minister on 28 March 2011. Over the coming year, the shop will offer up to 150 entrepreneurs the chance to sell their British-made products over a two-week period. The tenant retailers will keep all of the profit from their sales, with any surplus rental income being recycled to fund pop-up shops elsewhere in the UK.
	I would be delighted to invite the hon. Member to join me for a tour of the pop-up shop early this year.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Basketball

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will ask UK Sport to reconsider its decision to withdraw elite funding for basketball.

Hugh Robertson: UK Sport’s decisions to fund Sports for the Rio 2016 cycle were based on their Investment Principles, which can be read at the following link:
	http://www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/investment-principles/
	Any sport which is dissatisfied with the outcome of this process can make a formal appeal. The full details of the appeals process are on UK Sport's website:
	www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/complaints-appeals/
	Separate to any formal process, the UK Sport Board has exercised its discretionary right to invite Sports to attend the next board meeting (on 30 January 2013) to make any further informal representations.

Basketball

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department is providing to basketball and wheelchair basketball in (a) London and (b) the rest of the UK following the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England have recently announced that they will commit £6.75 million to getting more people playing basketball during 2013-17. They will also invest £2 million in wheelchair basketball during this time to help more disabled people take up the sport and build the foundations of future Paralympic success. The four-year funding is more than twice Sport England’s previous investment in British wheelchair basketball. In addition to this, Sport England has open pots of funding, which basketball clubs are able to apply to. Sport England funding will benefit individuals and clubs across the country. UK Sport are investing £5,379,264 into elite wheelchair basketball for the Rio cycle.

Betting

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on a review of fixed odds betting terminals; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Government has committed to review the evidence around category B2 gaming machines (fixed odds betting terminals) and problem gambling. Details on how the review will be progressed are being agreed with colleagues across Government, including the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), and will be announced shortly.

Betting

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has assessed which overseas jurisdictions do not compel operators to report certain information such as instances of suspicious betting activity to the Gambling Commission or relevant body where such activity may involve UK sports or UK consumers.

Hugh Robertson: The Gambling Commission has advised that it is not common practice for overseas jurisdictions to require betting operators to report suspicious betting activity involving UK sport or consumers direct to the Gambling Commission, or to the UK sports governing body.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the reason was for the time taken to provide the EU Competition Commissioner with information on the rural broadband rollout programme.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was involved in extensive dialogue with the Commission on the detail of its superfast broadband programme. DCMS submitted its formal notification for state aid approval on 5 January 2012 and having reviewed the notification, the Commission raised 31 questions relating to the detailed operation of the scheme on 29 February. DCMS worked closely with Commission officials over the course of the following months to address the concerns that were raised in these questions, to amend the scheme where appropriate and to negotiate on specific details. It was necessary to address all these matters to ensure that we ended up with a high quality scheme that presents the prospect of delivering superfast broadband to the vast majority of the UK, and doing so with the minimum contribution from public funds.

Football

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Football Association on the involvement of clubs in the Football Conference and the Isthmian, Southern and Northern Premier leagues in the governance of English football.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), met the chair of the Football Association (FA) on 3 October to discuss a wide range of football issues, including governance, and as Minister for Sport and Tourism, I meet with the chair and chief of the Football Association regularly. However, no specific discussions have taken place with the FA about lower league clubs. The football authorities continue to work towards reforming the governance of the game. They have already begun to implement this through the reform of the FA Board. We expect further reforms, including the introduction of a new licensing system for clubs and rationalisation of the relationship between the FA Board and its Council, by summer 2013.

Gambling: Internet

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what evidence she has considered on the potential effect on consumer protection of place of consumption regulation of online gambling.

Hugh Robertson: The Government has set out in detail the evidence it has considered in a Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanying the draft Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill. This assessment identifies how place of consumption regulation of online gambling will ensure that the protections of the gambling regulatory framework are applied more consistently, with less confusion for consumers, and in a way that gives the Gambling Commission the ability to offer greater protection to British consumers.

Gambling: Internet

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what evidence she has considered on the potential effect of place of consumption regulation of online gambling on the number of unregulated operators offering online gambling in the UK;
	(2)  if she will estimate the potential reduction in unregulated online gambling in the UK as a result of place of consumption regulation;
	(3)  if she will estimate the number of unregulated online gaming companies currently operating in the UK;
	(4)  what proportion of online gambling operators are able to offer unregulated services in the UK;
	(5)  if she will estimate the proportion of the UK online gaming market that is unregulated; and what assessment she has made of the potential effects of place of consumption regulation on that proportion;
	(6)  whether she has estimated the number of unregulated operators that will become regulated as a result of the introduction of place of consumption regulation.

Hugh Robertson: Remote gambling offered to UK consumers may fall into one of several categories. It could be unregulated anywhere (which we estimate to be a very small proportion of the total); regulated in another jurisdiction but not authorised to advertise in the UK; regulated in “whitelist” or EEA countries and therefore authorised to advertise in the UK; and those regulated by the Gambling Commission. The Gambling Commission estimates that at least 80% of remote gambling activity by UK citizens takes place with operators that it does not regulate. Our proposals for place of consumption regulation aim to ensure that all remote gambling advertised and offered to British based consumers will be regulated by the Gambling Commission.

Gambling: Internet

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of how place of consumption regulation of online gambling will improve consumer protection.

Hugh Robertson: The Government's proposed remote gambling reforms will strengthen consumer protection for British based consumers of remote gambling services by ensuring remote gambling operators are subject to the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005, its regulations and the Gambling Commission's social responsibility and technical standards requirements. As a result, consumers will enjoy consistent standards of protection whichever online gambling site they choose to visit.

Gambling: Internet

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  which gambling jurisdictions contained within EEA member states, Gibraltar and the white list her Department has assessed as providing inadequate protection to consumers;
	(2)  which European online gaming operators her Department has assessed as having insufficient regulatory oversight; and which are permitted to advertise in the UK.

Hugh Robertson: Part of the problem with the current regulatory arrangements is that it is difficult to assess whether apparent problems are due to lack of regulatory oversight, because such issues are investigated by other regulators. The proposed remote gambling regulatory reforms remove the need to assess regulatory standards in jurisdictions whose operators can target the UK, and is a more practical and cost-effective approach given the growing number of online jurisdictions and the potential for expansion of the online offer. There is currently potential for a growing problem of varying standards and different levels of expertise and the proposed reforms will reduce the potential for operators to locate themselves in inexperienced or less rigorous jurisdictions to target the UK.

Olympic Games 2012

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in her Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access.

Hugh Robertson: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.

Redundancy

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many posts have been declared redundant by each of her Department’s Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of those redundancies in each such year.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not collate this information. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executives of our agency and arm’s length bodies to write to the hon. Member. Copies of their replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has held on creating a national framework that will secure a sporting legacy for the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: A new Cabinet Committee on Olympic and Paralympic Legacy has been created, chaired by the Prime Minister, to co-ordinate legacy delivery across Government. Sports legacy forms a major part of this work.

Sports: Schools

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to her Department's strategy, Creating a sporting habit for life, published in January 2012, what assessment she has made of the effect of the loss of teacher release funding in schools from 2013-14; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Department has made no such assessment. “Teacher release” funding is a matter for the Department for Education. In November 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced that he was making available funding to release a PE teacher from every secondary school to work with local primary schools to increase opportunities in competitive sport and encourage them to participate in the School Games. At that time, he made it very clear that this funding would be in place for only two years and that, beyond then, he expects that schools should have embedded this work into their core provision.
	We are working with the Secretary of State for Education in considering a range of measures to improve school sport further and will make an announcement in due course.

Telephone Services: Unsolicited Goods and Services

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints the Information Commissioner received from the Telephone Preference Service about live unsolicited direct marketing calls in the year to 31 October (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Edward Vaizey: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has advised me that they are unable to provide information relating to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), as their systems are unable to specifically identify referrals from the TPS.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the contribution from the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 896, if he will correct the record following his contribution at Official Report, 18 December 2012, column 828.

John Hayes: I confirm that no correction will be made to the Official Report, 18 December 2012, Column 828.
	The Government expects to reduce emissions to below the first three carbon budgets by 90, 132, and 71 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent respectively, as set out in the Government's Updated Energy and Emissions Projections and its response to the Committee on Climate Change's (CCC) fourth annual progress report—both published 15 October, 2012. Since 1990, we have already seen UK emissions fall by 26%, on the way to reducing emissions by around 35%, against 1990 levels, by 2020 (the third carbon budget period).
	Consistent with the Government's analysis, the CCC recognised in their fourth annual progress report that current emissions projections suggest outperformance against the first three carbon budgets, whilst noting the impact of the current economic climate on emissions projections. The CCC did also use their report to call for a "step change" in the pace of implementation of policy measures, but did not disagree that the first three carbon budgets are likely to be met on current projections.
	The Government is acting now to deliver the step change necessary, with major policies now moving into their delivery stage. The recently introduced Energy Bill set out proposals for reforming the electricity market to support low carbon generation, changes which should lead to a doubling in the normal rate of investment.
	Among other things, the Government is supporting continued take-up of energy efficiency measures through the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation; building a market for renewable heat through the renewable heat incentive; and has put in place a green investment bank to help catalyse the private investment that is crucial to driving the change that is needed.

Electricity Interconnectors: Hebrides

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make an estimate of the cost of installing, maintaining and running an electrical interconnector in the Outer Hebrides.

John Hayes: The cost of grid connections is a matter for the network companies and the independent regulator, Ofgem. The Department makes no estimate of the costs of such projects.

Employment Agencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The total spending on recruitment agencies by the Department of Energy and Climate Change for the period July 2012 to December 2012 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 July 32,439 
			 August 27,310 
			 September 26,670 
			 October 27,823 
			 November 16,143 
		
	
	The data for December 2012 are not currently available.

Energy: Conservation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the case for supporting industrial energy efficiency schemes in the energy intensive industries through the measures proposed in his Department's consultation paper on options to encourage permanent reductions in electricity use.

John Hayes: The Electricity Demand Reduction consultation sets out a number of policies the Government is considering introducing to reduce demand for electricity. Analysis carried out in support of the consultation considered the technical potential for electricity savings across the economy, including energy intensive industries. The measures assessed as having the highest technical potential for electricity savings in the industrial sector are. the usage optimisation of motors, pump optimisation and improved boilers. Together these are estimated to have the potential to save around 24 TWh, 4% of which is expected to be captured through current and planned policies.
	We are continuing to gather evidence through the consultation process before finalising our policies to deliver a step change in electricity demand reduction. Our consideration of the evidence will include looking at the scope for, and the costs and benefits of, supporting electricity demand reduction in energy intensive industries.

Energy: Conservation

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to support decentralised energy generators to reduce carbon emissions through greater energy efficiency.

Gregory Barker: All generators are incentivised to run as efficiently as possible through the operation of the energy market. The electricity market reforms being introduced in the Energy Bill will diversify our electricity supply by supporting all forms of low carbon generation, helping to improve our energy security and reduce reliance on energy imports. These reforms do not support one specific technology. Rather, they will provide assistance to all low carbon technologies, in order to encourage innovation and competition, and reward those generators that can provide clean, affordable, and secure electricity for consumers at the lowest price.

Energy: Fines

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the amount paid in fines to HM Treasury from each energy company in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012.

John Hayes: DECC does not hold the information requested.
	As independent regulator, Ofgem is responsible for the regulation of gas and electricity supply, including investigating energy companies which may be breaching the terms of their licence, acting anti-competitively or breaching consumer law. Ofgem has the power to fine up to 10% of a company’s turnover should they be found to be in breach. The following tables show the amount of fines issued by Ofgem from 2009-12.
	
		
			 2009 
			 Company Case details Outcome 
			 EDF Energy plc Non-compliance with Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 4D and SLC 12 of the Electricity Distribution Licence (Requirement to offer terms for Use of System and connection) £2 million penalty 
			 Companies in the Npower Group Non-compliance with Standard Licence Condition 25 of the gas and electricity supply licences (Marketing to domestic customers) £1.8 million penalty 
			    
		
	
	
		
			 2010 
			 Company Case details Outcome 
			 National Grid Gas plc Investigation under the Competition Act 1998 into suspected abuse of dominant position £15 million penalty 
		
	
	Also in 2010, EDF Energy made payments of £200,000 to two consumer funds following an investigation into their compliance with Regulation 4 (1) of the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Complaints Handling Standards) Regulations 2008.
	
		
			 2011 
			 Company Case details Outcome 
			 National Grid Gas plc Non-compliance with Special Conditions E2B, E6 and E20, and Standard Special Conditions D9 and A40 of its gas transporter licence in respect of Distribution Networks (Regulatory reporting of mains decommissioning work) £8 million penalty 
			 Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution plc Non-compliance with Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 4D, SLC 30 and SLC 12 of the electricity distribution licence (Offers of connection) £500,000 penalty 
			 Central Networks East plc and Central Networks plc Non-compliance with Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 4D, SLC 30 and SLC 12 of the electricity distribution licence (Offers of connection) £400,000 penalty 
			 Electricity North West Ltd Non-compliance with Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 4D, SLC 30 and SLC 12 of the electricity distribution licence (Offers of connection) £100,000 penalty 
			 British Gas Trading Ltd Non-compliance with the reporting requirements under the Renewables Obligation for England and Wales, and Scotland, as set out in various statutory instruments £1,000,000 penalty plus action taken by BG to redress the impact on the market, by retiring Renewables Obligation Certificates 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 
			 Company Case details Outcome 
			 British Gas Trading Ltd Non-compliance with Gas and Electricity (Consumer Complaints Handling Standards) Regulations 2008 (CSHR) £2,500,000 
		
	
	
		
			 RWE Npower Ltd Non-compliance with Gas and Electricity (Consumer Complaints Handling Standards) Regulations 2008 (CSHR) £2,000,000 
			 National Grid Gas plc Non-compliance with Standard Special Condition (SSC) D10 paragraph 2 (g) of its gas transporters licence (Standards for attending controlled and uncontrolled gas escapes) £4,300,000 
			 Northern Gas Networks Ltd Non-compliance with Standard Special Condition (SSC) D10 paragraph 2 (g) of its gas transporters licence (Standards for attending controlled and uncontrolled gas escapes) £900,000 
			 EDF Energy Customers plc Non-compliance with obligations under conditions 23, 25 and 27 of the Standard Conditions of the Electricity and Gas Supply Licenses £1 penalty plus £4.5 million consumer redress package to customers 
			 Wales and West Utilities Ltd Non-compliance with Standard Special Conditions A40(5), D9(2), D9(5)(c), and Special Conditions E2B(8)(3)(b), E20(3)(a) and (b) and E20(7)(a) of its gas transporter licence £375,000 
			 Opus Energy Ltd Non-compliance with reporting requirements under the Renewables Obligation for England and Wales, and Scotland as set out various statutory instruments £125,000 
		
	
	Also in 2012, Ofgem secured a commitment from E.ON to pay back £1.4 million to customers incorrectly charged exit fees or overcharged following price rises. In addition, E.ON has agreed to make an additional payment of around £300,000 as a goodwill gesture to a consumer fund which they run in partnership with Age UK.
	Ofcom, the body responsible for regulating the communications industries recently imposed a financial penalty of £60,000 on Npower for breaking rules on abandoned telephone calls, which came into force in 2010.

Energy: Meters

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 536W, on energy: meters, whether he has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of the different types of smart meter; and if he will publish the results of any such analysis.

John Hayes: The Government published the first smart meter equipment technical specifications and a cost-benefit. Impact assessment in April 2012. The specifications set out the minimum functional and technical requirements for smart meters installed in Great Britain. In August 2012 the Government launched a further consultation seeking views on requirements for a range of additional capabilities in the specifications, including standards for communication between devices. A cost-benefit impact assessment will be published alongside the Government response to the consultation shortly.

Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of staff in his Department have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last three years.

Gregory Barker: DECC has since November 2010 provided a mandatory equality and diversity e-learning course to all of its staff. Staff were asked to complete the course once, not annually.
	In financial year 2010-11, 18.5% of staff passed the course
	In financial year 2011-12, 75.3% of staff passed the course
	In financial year 2012-13, 2.8% of staff have passed the course

EU Energy Policy

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage an integrated European market for energy.

John Hayes: The Third Package of legislation on the internal market in energy includes the key building blocks for an integrated European energy market. It is therefore crucial that it is fully implemented in all member states and we are encouraging the Commission to take enforcement action against those member states who have not achieved full compliance. However, in order to facilitate the cross-border trading and further investment needed for energy market integration, further rules are being developed on a range of network and market issues. The Department, in close co-operation with UK regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders, is playing an active part in the formulation of these rules with the aim of adopting the most important of them in time to meet the objective, agreed by the European Council, of completing the internal energy market by 2014.

Fracking

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his timetable is for his Department's study into the possible impacts of shale gas extraction on greenhouse gas emissions.

John Hayes: The study will start in January 2013 and is due to complete by 30 April 2013.

Fracking: Fylde

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what monitoring will take place of fracking off the Fylde coast.

John Hayes: I am not aware of any proposals for fracking off the Fylde coast. Monitoring of any fracking within Fylde is described in the written ministerial statement on Exploration for Shale Gas made by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), on 13 December 2012, Official Report, columns 44-52WS.

Fuel Poverty: Pendle

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in Pendle constituency.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number of households living in fuel poverty in the Pendle parliamentary constituency, for the latest available year 2010. Fuel poverty statistics for 2011 are due to be released in May 2013.
	
		
			 Area Fuel poor households (thousand) Percentage living in fuel poverty (%) 
			 Pendle constituency 9 23.7

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies took part in the tendering process to award the contract to run the Green Deal oversight body.

Gregory Barker: Nine bidders expressed an interest in the role of Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body. Of these, six were selected to move to the next stage and issued with a formal Invitation to Tender on 7 March 2012. Four bids were received.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which Minister signed off the decision to award Gemserv the contract to run the Green Deal oversight body.

Gregory Barker: I approved the recommendation to appoint Gemserv, on behalf of the Secretary of State, based on their score from the tender process under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and Official Journal of the European Union procedures.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to ensure that existing Green Deal participants are not able to influence which future companies are granted Green Deal accreditation.

Gregory Barker: All participants go through a transparent, consistent and fair process to gain accreditation. Compliance with the Green Deal code of practice is a condition of all accreditations.
	Applicant assessors and installers have to be certified by a certification body, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to ensure they meet the appropriate standards. The United Kingdom Accreditation Service accredit certification bodies to carry out this function.
	Applicant providers submit applications to the Oversight and Registration Body that are assessed in accordance with published guidance for applicants prepared by DECC.
	The Oversight and Registration Body makes a recommendation, and the Secretary of State takes the decision on whether to approve the applicant.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consideration his Department gave the shareholders of Gemserv when awarding the contract to run the Green Deal oversight body.

Gregory Barker: Award of the contract was undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006. The contract was also awarded, and is being delivered, in accordance with the Department's requirements and detailed terms which provide appropriate controls should they be needed including over any issues relating to ownership.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria his Department used to determine that Gemserv should be awarded the contract to run the Green Deal oversight body.

Gregory Barker: The evaluation criteria used to assess each of the bids were contained in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). The criteria covered the following areas: Delivery Plan, Quality Assurance and Reporting, Registration and Authorisation, Management Functions, Data Management and Data Security, Monitoring, Non Compliance and Redress, Reporting, and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) functions. The marks available against each criteria were made known in advance through the ITT.

Green Deal Scheme: Computer Software

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 308W, on Green Deal Scheme: computer scheme, on what date the updated software for assessment training produced by BRE went live.

Gregory Barker: The training software produced by BRE first went live on 27 May 2012. Subsequent updates have been released throughout the year. The version of the software released on 5 December 2012 was approved by DECC for the creation of live Green Deal occupancy assessments.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  if he will thank the individual members of the English, Welsh and Scottish groups on coal miners' compensation for their work;
	(2)  when the individual members of the English, Welsh and Scottish monitoring groups on coal miners' compensation will be formally advised whether or not their services are required any more.

John Hayes: The Coal Heath Compensation Monitoring Groups were set up specifically to monitor the progress and settlement of claims under the chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger (VWF) schemes. Both schemes were formally concluded in the courts over two years ago. At the same time the work of the monitoring groups came to a natural conclusion with the completion of most claims.
	These were among the biggest personal injury schemes in British legal history. It has been noted on several occasions that the schemes have been a remarkable achievement for all those involved including the monitoring groups. I endorse that sentiment.

Nuclear Power Stations

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the ability of Hinkley B and Hunterson B nuclear reactors to operate safely for a further seven years.

John Hayes: Ensuring the continued safe operation and security of the UK's nuclear power plants and facilities is of paramount importance. The operator has a duty to ensure that the nuclear power stations can continue to operate in line with regulatory requirements. The Office for Nuclear Regulation has reviewed the operators' proposals and is satisfied that both power stations will continue to operate safely provided results from routine maintenance, inspection and testing continue to support their safety cases. Continued operation of these power stations will also be subject to mandatory Periodic Safety Reviews continuing to demonstrate that they remain adequately safe.

Nuclear Power Stations

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what procedures he will put in place to monitor safety at Hinkley B and Hunterson B nuclear reactors.

John Hayes: All nuclear site licensees, including EDF in the case of Hinkley B and Hunterston B reactors, are legally obliged to satisfy the independent Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) that they are operating safely, in accordance with a detailed safety case. In turn, the ONR reports to the public, the Secretary of State and to Parliament.

Nuclear Reactors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost has been of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process for new nuclear reactors since its inception; what proportion of such cost has been recovered by (a) the Office for Nuclear Regulation and (b) the Environment Agency; and what estimate he has made of the likely future costs that will be incurred in the completion of any outstanding GDA matters.

John Hayes: The regulatory costs of the Generic Design Assessment to date have been approximately £57 million (EA costs: £5 million and ONR costs: £52 million).
	Regulators have estimated the costs up to publication of the final technical reports for the EPR design to be an additional £2.57 million (EA: £0.37million and ONR: £2.2 million).
	100% of these costs are recoverable from the GDA requesting parties.
	The AP1000 design assessment remains on hold as per Westinghouse's request.

Olympic Games 2012

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in his Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access.

Gregory Barker: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.

Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold the information requested centrally and it would be available only at disproportionate cost. The following figures shown have been taken from the Department’s financial records. On all consultancy, including management consultancies:
	£9,163,000 was spent in 2010-11;
	£6,690,000 was spent in 2011-12.
	The Department procures IT through a shared services agreement with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The Department spend through this contract in 2010-11 was £4,744,000 and £5,499,000 in 2011-12. When IT services are only part of a main contract for a service, it is not possible to identify separately the IT spend on that contract and this figure is not included in the figures shown.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many procurement officers are currently employed by his Department.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change employs a central procurement team of seven procurement officers and a part-time procurement officer for 0.4 of a full-time worker. In addition there are a number of staff working on procurement throughout the Department under guidance from the central team. The number of staff working on procurement is not recorded centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has devolved procurement across the organisation with a central team of seven procurement officers and one part-time procurement officer.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many procurement officers in his Department have relevant procurement qualifications.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change employs a central procurement team of eight procurement officers and all are fully qualified members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS).

Public Expenditure

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's Business Plan 2011-15, what payments were made by his Department to organisations as part of achieving Priority (a) B: Deliver secure energy on the way to a low carbon future and (b) C: Drive ambitious action on climate change at home and abroad in each financial year since 2008-09.

Gregory Barker: For each of the financial years since 2008-09, the Department's payment expenditure to organisations as part of achieving the priorities of (a) B: Deliver a secure energy on the way to a low carbon future and (b) C: Drive ambitious action on climate change at home and abroad is published in the Department of Energy & Climate Change's 2011-12 Annual Report (HC 63) Page 222.

Redundancy

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many posts have been declared redundant by each of his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies by each such body in each year since 1999; and what the cost of those redundancies has been.

Gregory Barker: The number of posts declared redundant in each year since 1999 and the associated costs by each of the non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) for which the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  NDPB Posts declared redundant Cost of redundancies 
			 2008-09 Civil Nuclear Constabulary(1) 1 No cost 
			 2009-10  1 <£105,000 
			 2011-12  2 £10,000-£25,000 
			  Sub total 4 £24,691 
			     
			 2010-11 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 74 £4.5 million- £5 million 
			 2011-12  1 £50,000-£100,000 
			  Sub total 75 £4,877,424 
			     
			 1999-2000 Coal Authority 2 £10,000-£25,000 
			 2000-01  1 <£10,000 
			 2001-02  2 £50,000-£100,000 
			 2009-10  3 £50,000-£100,000 
			 2011-12  32 £1.5 million- £2 million 
			  Sub total 40 £1,828,577 
			     
			  Grand total 119 £6,730,692 
			 (1) The Civil Nuclear Constabulary was created in 2005. Therefore there is no information available prior to that date. 
		
	
	The Committee for Climate Change has not made any posts redundant. DECC does not have any Executive agencies for which it is responsible.

Redundancy Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has not made any redundancy payments to any of its civil servants between July and December 2012.

Renewable Energy: Timber

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that the use of whole trees in electricity generation is not supported under the Renewables Obligation;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on emissions of greenhouse gases of using whole trees for electricity generation.

John Hayes: A sustainably managed forest will produce whole trees that vary in size and quality. It is common UK practice when establishing new stands of trees to plant at relatively high densities. Over time a proportion of these young, small trees will die due to competition or may be thinned out to allow the best trees to thrive. These whole trees, particularly the earliest thinnings, can be beneficially used for energy generation and this may be the only use available to them.
	In developing the evidence base to inform the UK Bioenergy Strategy, the Government commissioned analysis on the carbon impacts of using forestry for bioenergy, compared to alternative end uses. The focus of the work was on UK forestry practices. It concluded that UK market prices ensured that whole trees of sufficient quality and dimensions would be used to produce timber for construction and only the residues from this process used for energy. This mixed use would deliver the best GHG emissions savings.
	The research is available from the DECC website.
	The Government is consulting to improve the sustainability criteria that apply to the use of solid and gaseous biomass under the Renewables Obligation. We are proposing that the .reporting requirements include more information on the quality and tree species of different consignments of woodfuel used by power generators so we can better ensure that this is the case. The consultation closed on 30 November and we intend to publish our decisions by March 2013.

Renewable Energy: Timber

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much wood was burnt in UK power stations in 2011-12; and what proportion of wood used for such purposes was sourced from whole trees, including sawlogs and roundwood.

John Hayes: In year 2011-12 (April 2011 to March 2012), 2,077,493 tonnes of wood (including wood, pellets, chip and sawdust) was burned by UK major power producers(1). DECC does not hold information on the proportion sourced from whole trees.
	(1) Source:
	DECC's monthly survey of UK major power producers.

Renewables Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what the reasons are for the time taken in responding to the consultation on proposals for the levels of banded support for solar photovoltaics under the renewables obligation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he intends to publish the outcome of his Department's consultation on proposals for the levels of banded support for solar photovoltaics under the renewables obligation for the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2017.

John Hayes: A significant amount of new evidence on the costs and deployment potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) was received during the consultation. We have taken the time necessary to consider this evidence carefully to ensure that we get the right balance between setting subsidies at a level which supports the continued and sustainable growth of the solar PV industry in the UK while representing value for money for energy consumers. The Government Response(1) setting out the results of the consultation was laid in Parliament on 18 December 2012 and published on DECC’s website at the following location:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/ro_solarpv/ro_solarpv.aspx
	(1) Renewables Obligation Banding Review for the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2013: Government Response to further consultations on solar PV support, biomass affordability and retaining the minimum calorific value requirement in the RO. DECC, December 2012.

Senior Civil Servants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his answer of 5 December 2012, Official Report, column 782W, on senior civil servants, whether (a) he or (b) his Department submitted a candidate for the post of permanent secretary of his Department to the Prime Minister for his approval; and on what date any such submission was made.

Gregory Barker: For Permanent Secretary appointments and new entrants to Director General roles, the Head of the Civil Service or the Cabinet Secretary seeks approval from the Prime Minister.

Senior Civil Servants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 76W, on senior civil servants, for what reasons the makeup of the appointment panel for the post of Permanent Secretary has changed.

Gregory Barker: Selection panels for Permanent Secretary roles are always chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner. Either the Head of the Civil Service or Cabinet Secretary also sits on the panel, as will one of the departmental non-executive directors. The re-run of the DECC Permanent Secretary appointment process was a new competition and a different selection panel was convened.

Temporary Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Department's expenditure on interim staff is published in its Annual Reports for 2010-11 (HC 1009) Page 11 and for 2011-12 (HC 63) Page 44. It is in the tables showing spend for contingent labour. For DECC, excluding its NDPBs, the relevant figures are £4,890,000 (2010-11) and £3,420,000 (2011-12).

Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many temporary staff have been recruited in his Department in each month from July to December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The number of temporary staff recruited by the Department of Energy and Climate Change from July to December 2012 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number recruited 
			 2012  
			 July 13 
			 August 7 
			 September 14 
			 October 29 
			 November 22 
			 December 7 
			 Total 92

Warm Front Scheme: South East

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to promote take-up of the Warm Homes scheme in the south-east.

Gregory Barker: Around 2 million low income and vulnerable households will benefit each year as a result of the Warm Home Discount scheme, which started in April 2011. In winter 2011-12, this included over 700,000 of the poorest pensioners who received an automatic £120 discount on their electricity bills in winter 2011-12. This winter, over 1 million of the poorest pensioners will receive an increased discount of £130. 90% of these will receive the discount without the need to apply but all eligible and potentially eligible pensioner householders are written to each year.
	Regional breakdowns for these data are not available.

Wind Power: Carmarthenshire

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost of the grid connection infrastructure required to service the proposed wind farms in north Carmarthenshire.

John Hayes: The cost of grid connections is a matter for the network companies and the independent regulator, Ofgem. The Department has made no estimate of the costs of this proposed connection.

Wind Power: Wales

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what financial contribution his Department has made to the costs incurred by the Welsh local authorities defending refusal decisions on wind farm applications over 50 megawatts in the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: None.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Charities

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) discussions and (b) meetings (i) ministers and (ii) officials in her Department had with UK registered charities in (A) November 2012 and (B) December 2012.

Alan Duncan: Details of ministerial meetings are available on the website of the Department for International Development (DFID):
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/Our-organisation/Ministers/#travel
	and are published every quarter in the normal way.

Charities

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on which active projects her Department receives advice from UK registered charities.

Alan Duncan: UK registered charities are involved in a range of active DFID projects. A detailed list can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK representative to the Green Climate Fund will press for civil society participation in the Green Climate Fund Board at the next meeting of that body.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK fully supports the participation of civil society in the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board as active observers. We were disappointed that the GCF Board was not able to reach agreement on the working practices for active observers at its most recent board meeting, in October. The UK representative is working with other board members to resolve outstanding issues ahead of the next board meeting, in March 2013, so that civil society can engage fully at that meeting.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she will make board papers available to UK civil society representatives in advance of the next Green Climate Fund board meeting.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK fully supports the participation of civil society in the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board as active observers. The UK representative is working with other board members to agree working practices for the active observers, ahead of the next board meeting, in March 2013. Our position is that board papers should be sent to active observers at the same time as they are sent to board members.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she has given consideration to developing a position paper on tuberculosis.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development does not plan to develop a position paper specifically on tuberculosis, but will incorporate tuberculosis in wider public documents on our approach to supporting health outcomes. For example the Health Position Paper, which is due to be published in 2013.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she has carried out a review of the World Health Organisation's TB REACH initiative; and what discussions she has held with her Canadian counterparts on their support for the project.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development recognises the importance of the World Health Organisation's ‘TB REACH’ initiative and appreciates strong Canadian support for this initiative. The UK supports the World Health Organisation-hosted ‘STOP TB’ Partnership and currently provides funding of £4.9 million over the period 2011 to 2015. Overall, the UK spent £44.2 million in the 2010-11 financial year on direct bilateral aid for tuberculosis as well as significant additional funding through the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of staff in her Department have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in the last three years.

Alan Duncan: In the last three years 19.9% of staff in DFID received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

EU Aid

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness and efficiency of the EU's aid programmes.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) conducted a Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) in 2011 which examined the effectiveness and efficiency of the EU's aid programmes. The European Development Fund scored strongly against efficiency, flexibility and poverty focus. The EU's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, ECHO, also performed strongly in our assessment and the European Commission's budget development instruments scored satisfactorily. The review stated that EU aid programmes would be more effective if they had a stronger focus on results, including better and more systematic monitoring and evaluation of their operations. An update to the MAR will be undertaken in 2013 to review progress against the recommendations made.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of funding provided by her Department to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been spent on the treatment or cure of (a) Aids, (b) tuberculosis and (c) malaria in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: Donors cannot earmark funds by disease and so the share of DFID's funding directed to each of the diseases is the same as the fund's overall distribution. The distribution of the fund's portfolio for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure in each of the last three years was:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 HIV/AIDS 58 53 54 
			 Malaria 28 30 30 
			 TB 13 16 15

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment her Department has made of the new funding model adopted by the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Lynne Featherstone: The New Funding Model is an attempt to allow the Global Fund to invest more strategically and provide countries with greater predictability and flexibility, as well as allowing them quicker access to funds in their fight against the three diseases. The Fund's Board unanimously agreed this new approach when it met in November 2012.
	Some of the detail is still to be worked out, and all aspects of the new model will be tested over the next 18 months or so, before it is rolled out in full for all countries in 2014.

Overseas Aid

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the benefits of civil society participation in the governance of multilateral funds.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made any specific assessments recently of the benefits of civil society participation in the governance of multilateral funds. DFID consulted civil society organisations in the multi-lateral aid review (MAR) process and is now working closely with civil society organisations to gather country-level evidence as part of the MAR update, currently under way.

Palestinians

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which aid projects her Department has funded in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: DFID has not funded any projects exclusively for Area C during the last three years.
	We funded a number of programmes which include activities in Area C over this period. We fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver essential services to refugees. We also fund the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide free legal support and advice to vulnerable families and communities at risk of displacement. In addition, during the period 2009-10 the UK gave £1 million to the UN Humanitarian Relief Fund which offers emergency assistance to Palestinian communities. In addition DFID gives financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which provides needs-based welfare payments to Palestinians living across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how many procurement officers are currently employed by her Department;
	(2)  how many civil servants in her Department regularly deal with procurement services.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development's central Procurement Group, (which manages the award of all large contracts over the £113,000 threshold in public procurement regulations), currently employs 34 procurement officers. The central Procurement Group works with a significant number of staff across DFID on procurement-related activities, however, to provide precise details of this would incur disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many procurement officers in her Department have relevant procurement qualifications.

Alan Duncan: Of the 34 procurement officers currently employed in the Department for International Development's central Procurement Group 19 currently hold a relevant procurement qualification and a further eight are currently studying towards one.

South Asia

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work her Department is doing to support gender equality and empowerment of women in South Asia.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID has a strong commitment to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in South Asia. DFID's programmes in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan are delivering results across all the priority areas of DFID's Strategic Vision for Women and Girls.
	Some examples of this include:
	Reproductive and maternal health: in Nepal, 70,000 births will be attended by a skilled birth attendant, and 108,000 unwanted pregnancies will be averted by 2015.
	Women economic empowerment: in Bangladesh, 341,268 women will receive economic support; and in India, 2.2 million poor women will be helped to access credit, savings and insurance.
	Violence Against Women and Girls: in South Asia, all DFID country offices in South Asia have programmes to address this.
	Political participation of women: in Afghanistan, DFID supports several programmes to increase the number of women voters and MPs elected. DFID's programme in Pakistan will aim to get 2 million more women voters in the next general election.

UN Women

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department gives to UN Women.

Alan Duncan: DFID provides a voluntary core contribution of £10 million a year to UN Women. It has provided just under £1 million in transitional funding to UN Women to assist with its creation from the four agencies which were merged. In addition, DFID provides a voluntary non-core contribution of £3.25 million over three years to a UN Women project on women, peace and security.
	DFID has also seconded a senior DFID member of staff to work for UN Women for two years. We provide further support as an executive board member and on discussions regarding results and value for money. DFID was critical in creating UN Women and is supporting the agency to be successful in improving the impact of the UN system's collective efforts to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment.

Zambia

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department has given to the Zambian HIV/AIDS programme; and what consideration she has given to the future funding of the National Aids Council.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID has supported the HIV response in Zambia for more than a decade. This has included direct funding to the National AIDS Council (NAC) to support its coordination role, as well as funding for civil society, research and cash transfers for households affected by HIV. Our support to scaling up anti-retroviral treatment is channelled through the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria.
	Under strong leadership, the NAC is becoming a more focused and less donor dependent organisation. Our direct support to the NAC will come to an end in March 2013 but we are planning to more than double our funding for HIV prevention in Zambia between 2013 to 2016. We will continue to work closely with the NAC in its efforts to strengthen HIV prevention, promote a more efficient use of available resources, and by participating in the mid-term review of the National AIDS Strategy in 2013.

JUSTICE

Bill of Rights Commission

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse has been of the Commission on a Bill of Rights to date; and what the nature of such costs has been.

Damian Green: As stated in its final report, the cost of the Commission on a Bill of Rights from its establishment in March 2011 to date is approximately £700,000. This figure includes all of its costs such as staff costs and consultations.
	Final figures for the total cost of the Commission will be available when the Commission has finished its work.

Courts: Interpreters

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court cases have collapsed as a result of an absence of a suitable interpreter or translator since the beginning of his Department's contract with Applied Language Solutions.

Helen Grant: The reasons for court case adjournments are not recorded as a matter of course. It is not possible to identify which adjournments are due to a lack of interpreter.
	Ineffective trials in magistrates and Crown courts do record the reason for being ineffective, although this does not mean that the case collapses as it will be re-listed. Ineffective trials are those that do not start on the due date and require rescheduling.
	The contract on language services has been operational since 30 January 2012. Data on ineffective trials were included in the court statistics for the first and second quarters of 2012. There were 345 magistrates court and 17 Crown court trials which were ineffective due to interpreter availability, out of over 100,000 listed trials across England and Wales.

Crime: Victims

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of local services for victims of violent crime; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Last year, the Government carried out a consultation on how the criminal justice system could best deliver victims’ services, which recognised the importance of support for victims of violent crime.
	In future, police and crime commissioners will commission the bulk of local victims' services based on local need and priorities, and the Ministry of Justice will commission some services nationally, including for victims of rape and domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and for those bereaved by homicide.
	The Government have made available long-term funding for specialist victim services, and have made clear our commitment to raise up to an additional £50 million from offenders to further support victims of crime.

Criminal Proceedings: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many proceedings for criminal offences there were in each magistrates court in Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, for local justice areas within Lancashire, for the years 1997 to 2011 (the latest available) are provided in the tables.
	Figures are provided at local justice area level, as data collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice do not allow the separate identification of defendants proceeded against at individual magistrates courts.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, for local justice areas within Lancashire, 1997 to 2011 (1,2) 
			 Number of defendants 
			 Local justice area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
			 Lancashire         
			 Blackburn, Darwen and Ribble Valley 9,230 9,110 8,890 9,234 8,847 9,490 9,931 8,835 
			 Blackpool and Fylde 12,650 12,258 13,352 13,633 9,909 9,789 10,044 2,499 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 11,839 11,283 9,121 11,351 11,178 12,178 11,761 9,314 
			 Chorley 3,581 5,286 4,986 3,508 3,124 2,902 4,288 3,998 
			 Fylde Coast 1 2  — — — — 9,078 
			 Hyndburn 3,777 4,845 3,753 3,612 3,560 3,397 3,620 3,351 
			 Lancaster 7,114 7,357 6,036 6,942 6,752 5,607 8,803 6,294 
			 Ormskirk 5,432 3,103 2,642 3,456 4,337 4,460 3,147 2,504 
			 Preston 11,211 11,136 10,066 10,553 8,573 8,890 8,983 7,450 
			 South Ribble 2,654 3,224 3,181 3,401 5,460 5,460 7,435 7,278 
			 Wyre 3,177 3,397 3,141 3,736 6,171 5,726 5,916 1,720 
			 Total 70,666 71,001 65,168 69,426 67,911 67,899 73,928 62,321 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of defendants 
			 Local justice area 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Lancashire        
			 Blackburn, Darwen and Ribble Valley 8,562 7,327 7,040 5,877 5,796 5,392 4,411 
			 Blackpool and Fylde 3 2 — — — — — 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 10,667 10,141 11,557 9,390 8,880 9,315 9,249 
			 Chorley 4,355 3,458 3,986 3,380 3,465 3,885 3,048 
			 Fylde Coast 14,221 14,938 15,426 12,615 12,414 13,013 12,569 
			 Hyndburn 3,223 3,407 3,459 4,267 4,319 4,322 5,388 
			 Lancaster 6,490 6,002 5,650 5,414 6,099 4,872 4,333 
			 Ormskirk 2,869 2,723 2,680 2,557 2,792 2,163 2,029 
			 Preston 8,271 7,387 7,363 7,672 7,467 7,027 6,827 
		
	
	
		
			 South Ribble 5,960 5,191 4,913 4,664 4,761 4,163 4,482 
			 Wyre — 3 — — — — — 
			 Total 64,621 60,579 62,074 55,836 55,993 54,152 52,336 
			 ‘—’ = Nil (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Electronic Tagging

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many parents have requested the imposition of an electronic tag on their children since May 2010;
	(2)  how many people of each age group under the age of 18 years in each region of the UK who have been placed on an electronic tag have had their curfew conditions altered since May 2010; and for what reasons each such modification occurred.

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
	(1) Juveniles can be electronically monitored on bail, as a court-ordered community sentence or on release from prison. Parents do not have formal input into sentencing decisions made by the courts or release decisions made by custodial institutions.
	There may be occasions where a parent has suggested informally to their child's solicitor or youth offending manager that electronic monitoring might be a good sentencing option but this is not possible to quantify.
	(2) The data are not collected centrally at this level of detail and it is not possible to provide this information except at disproportionate cost. The information is held within administrative databases by the two electronic monitoring contractors; however, extracting the data is complex as their databases are not designed to handle requests of this nature.
	Negotiations are currently under way with bidders for the next generation of electronic monitoring contracts; these include proposals for improved provision of management information. The new contracts are due to commence in April 2013.

Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of staff in his Department have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in the last three years.

Helen Grant: A range of training courses and learning opportunities on equality and diversity issues, including the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, have been provided to departmental staff over the last three years. Training methods have included e-learning, workshops, and information and guidance.
	The Department does not hold central data on the proportion of staff who completed this training.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the contribution of the Equality and Human Rights Commission on promoting and offering services giving advice and practical help on human rights.

Damian Green: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) carried out a review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) provision of equality information, advice and support to inform the Spending Review 2010. The review found that EHRC's helpline and legal grants programme neither represented value for money nor supported the EHRC in carrying out its functions.
	The Government announced in March 2011, that it would cease funding these activities when they came to a natural end, and to commission a new Great Britain-wide service, providing expert information, advice and support on discrimination and human rights.
	This is the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) which began on l October 2012.

Fines: Surcharges

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what amount was paid in victim surcharge in each of the last five years; and if he will estimate the amount likely to be paid in victim surcharge in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14;
	(2)  pursuant to the oral answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 699, on restorative justice, what financial support his Department has made available for restorative justice from the victims' surcharge in each of the last five years; what amount has been allocated from the victims' surcharge to restorative justice in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; what organisations received such funding; and what amount each such organisation received.

Helen Grant: In the last five years, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has collected a total of £41,857,000 from the victim surcharge as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2007-08 3,776,000 
			 2008-09 8,055,000 
			 2009-10 9,249,000 
			 2010-11 10,504,000 
			 2011-12 10,273,000 
		
	
	In our response to the consultation ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’ in July 2012, we set out a package of reforms to increase and extend the use of the victim surcharge. On 1 October 2012 we implemented the first tranche of these reforms to increase the surcharge ordered on fines, and to extend the surcharge to a wider range of in-court disposals including community and custodial sentences.
	For 2012-13 and 2013-14 we expect that the total amount collected in victim surcharge will reflect the impact of these recent reforms. Once the full package of reforms to the surcharge is implemented it is estimated that it will bring in up to an additional £20 million.
	The revenue from the victim surcharge is included within the total funding granted by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to organisations which support victims and witnesses, including organisations that may support restorative justice as part of a wide range of support services. The organisations listed are specifically funded to support restorative justice:
	
		
			 Name of organisation Purpose Funding (£) Years 
			 Milton Keynes Equality Council Provides caseworker support and counselling for victims using restorative justice. 173,700 2011-14 
			 Restorative Solutions Community Interest Company Piloting and expanding the use of restorative justice across Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, London and Bedfordshire. 147,000 2011-14

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many victims of human trafficking have been referred by the Salvation Army to shelters throughout the UK for a reflection period in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many of the victims of human trafficking who were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to the Salvation Army for a reflection period in the last 12 months were from (a) within and (b) outside the EU;
	(3)  how many of the victims of human trafficking who were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to the Salvation Army for a reflection period in the last 12 months were (a) male and (b) female.

Helen Grant: The Salvation Army is responsible for delivering the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales. The specialist support programme overseas and co-ordinates access to confidential client-based, tailored support services, including access to secure accommodation if the victim requires it. Between 1 December 2011 and 30 November 2012 439 potential victims of human trafficking were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to The Salvation Army. 271 were female and 168 were male.
	227 of those referred were from within the EU. 211 were from outside the EU. In addition, there was one victim whose country of origin could not be established.
	348 victims were provided with accommodation. 191 were female and 157 male.

Judicial Review

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims for judicial review were launched (a) up to 30 days, (b) over 30 days but up to six weeks, (c) over six weeks but up to three months and (d) over three months after the grounds to make the claim first arose in each year from 1997 to 2011.

Helen Grant: The Government is seeking views on a package of options designed to tackle the impact of the huge number of ill-founded judicial review applications which clog up our court system and slow down progress. The purpose of those options for reform is not to deny, or restrict, access to justice, but to provide for a more balanced and practicable approach.
	Management information is not centrally collected on time lapse from the time at which the grounds to make a judicial review claim first arose. This information is only on the claim form and grounds in the paper file, and as such the only way to collate the information requested would be to look through every single paper file. The Administrative Court Office file retention policy means that there would only be about three years’ worth of files to look through, but even that would be a disproportionate use of resources given the annual intake; the last three years of cases equates to approximately 40,000 files.

Prisoners: Marriage

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what arrangements are in place for parties to a marriage to visit each other when both parties are serving a prison sentence;
	(2)  what arrangements are in place for parties to a civil partnership to visit each other where both parties are serving a prison sentence.

Jeremy Wright: Visits may be allowed, on application, between close relatives when both parties are prisoners at separate establishments and these are normally referred to as inter-prison visits. Within the definition of close relative is a spouse/partner or civil partner. Where a request is made for an inter-prison visit involving two prisoners, including those who would not normally be held in the same type of establishment due to gender or age, governors should make reasonable efforts to accommodate the visit subject to security considerations. The National Offender Management Service policy for this can be found in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 16/2011, entitled 'Providing Visits and Services to Visitors', a copy of which can be found at
	www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis

Remand in Custody: Death

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many deaths in custody occurred in the (a) secure youth estate, (b) adult male estate and (c) adult female estate since May 2005; what the cause of death was for such deaths in custody; and if he will give a breakdown of recorded causes of those deaths in each of the above situations.

Jeremy Wright: Central deaths in custody records do not specifically include those who die in the 'youth secure estate' or 'adult estate.' However, we can provide information based on the offenders' ages at the time of death. As the adult prison estate can be defined as either those aged 18 and above or those aged 21 and above we have included figures for 15 to 17, 18 to 20 and 21 and over. Table 1 shows the number of deaths in custody in these age groups and by gender.
	Table 2 shows aggregate numbers of deaths by apparent cause for young adults (aged 18 to 20 years) and adults (aged 21 years and over). The National Offender Management Service makes a provisional classification of death based on apparent cause. It is the responsibility of coroners to determine the cause of death and figures may change following inquest.
	
		
			 Table 1: Deaths in custody by gender and category 
			 Gender  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Female Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18-20 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			  21 and over 6 6 8 5 7 7 4 
			          
			 Male Under 18 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			  18-20 10 2 8 5 5 4 6 
			  21 and over 155 145 168 155 157 186 180 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Deaths in custody by apparent cause by age and gender 
			 Deaths by cause  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Female         
			 Natural causes Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 2 3 0 3 4 3 3 
			          
			 Self- inflicted Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			  21 and over 3 3 8 1 3 1 1 
			          
			 Homicide Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			          
			 Other Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 
			          
			 Male         
			 Natural causes Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 86 80 87 95 101 122 118 
			          
			 Self- inflicted Under 18 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			  18 to 20 9 2 6 5 5 4 6 
			  21 and over 63 61 77 55 53 53 48 
			          
			 Homicide Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  18 to 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 3 0 2 3 0 1 2 
			          
			 Other Under 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  18-20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  21 and over 3 4 2 2 3 10 12

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons and using what evidential basis his Department decided to reduce fixed recoverable costs in the road traffic accident portal to (a) £500 for cases up to £10,000 and (b) £800 for cases between £10,000 and £25,000.

Helen Grant: These proposals were advanced in a consultation exercise which closed on 4 January and, together with wider civil law reforms, are intended to make lawyers' costs proportionate, and create an environment where insurers can pass on savings to their customers through lower premiums. Evidence for the proposals was gathered through a call for evidence conducted in early 2012; ongoing stakeholder engagement at ministerial and official level; and further consultations on specific aspects of the planned changes. The consultation responses will be analysed and a decision made in due course.

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed reduction in fixed recoverable costs in the road traffic accident portal on (a) equality of arms in court cases and (b) access to justice; and if he will place the findings of any such assessment in the Library.

Helen Grant: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram) on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 370W.

Young Offenders

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children under the age of 12 years are currently held in secure institutions.

Jeremy Wright: As at 2 November 2012, there were no children under the age of 12 years held in secure institutions either on remand or serving a custodial sentence. The last occasion where a child under the age of 12 years was held in a secure institution who was remanded or serving a custodial sentence was November 2010.
	The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide details of young people who may be held in secure institutions on other grounds, for example secure welfare placements.
	These figures have been provided by the Youth Justice Board and are provisional. 2012-13 figures will be finalised in the 2012-13 Youth Justice statistics which are planned to be published in January 2014.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the 12-month reconviction rate was of those held within the secure youth estate in each year since 1994;
	(2)  what the average number of reconvictions per offender was of those held within the secure youth estate in each year since 1994;
	(3)  what the 12-month reconviction rate was for each type of sentence for those held within the secure youth estate in each year since 1994;
	(4)  how many people after serving a sentence in the secure youth estate went on to commit (a) no more crimes, (b) between one and five crimes, (c) between six and 10 crimes, (d) between 11 and 20 crimes and (e) more than 20 crimes in each year since 1994.

Jeremy Wright: These questions have been answered using the Ministry of Justice's published proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis and the latest bulletin, for the period January to December 2010, was published on 25 October 2012.
	2000 is the earliest year for which proven reoffending data exist on a comparable basis and data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. Data for 2011 will be published on 31 October 2013.
	PQ 134917 and PQ  134959
	Table 1 shows the number of juvenile offenders in England and Wales who were released from custody in each of the years 2000, 2002 to 2010; the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one-year follow-up period; and the average number of reoffences per offender.
	PQ  134958
	Table 2 shows the number of juvenile offenders in England and Wales released from custody in 2010, by custodial sentence length; and the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one-year follow-up period. Data for years prior to 2010 are currently unavailable, but the Ministry intends to publish the data in 2013.
	PQ  134956
	Table 3 shows the number of juvenile offenders in England and Wales released from custody in 2000, 2002 to 2010 divided into bands based on the number of proven reoffences committed within a one-year follow-up period.
	A proven reoffence is defined as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one-year follow-up. Following this one-year period, a further six-month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Please note that proven reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	
		
			 Table 1: Proven reoffending data for juvenile offenders released from custody in each of the years 2000, 2002 to 2010, England and Wales (1) 
			  2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 76.8 74.8 74.9 75.5 73.8 74.7 74.1 72.1 70.6 71.0 
			 Average number of reoffences per offender 4.93 4.44 4.53 4.18 3.83 3.81 3.61 3.31 3.15 3.07 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 3,385 3,884 3,678 3,457 3,618 3,411 3,534 3,522 2,938 2,304 
			 (1) Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data. (2) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who were released from custody are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders that cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Proven reoffending data for juvenile offenders released from custody in 2010, by custodial sentence length, England and Wales (1) 
			  Custodial sentence length 
			  All Less than or equal to 6 months More than 6 months to less than 12 months 12 months to less than 4 years 4 years or more 
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 71.0 76.0 75.6 61.7 (3)— 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,304 1,097 467 723 (4)17 
			 (1) A custodial sentence length breakdown is currently available only for 2010. (2) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who were released from custody are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders that cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. (3) Data based on less than 30 offenders are removed as they make data unreliable for interpretation. (4) Less than 30 offenders—treat data with caution. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Proven reoffending data for juvenile offenders released from custody in each of the years 2000, 2002 to 2010, by reoffence band, England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders in the cohort (1) No reoffence Between 1 and 5 reoffences Between 6 and 10 reoffences Between 11 and 20 reoffences More than 20 reoffences 
			 2000 3,385 785 1,417 721 405 57 
			 2002 3,884 978 1,648 818 408 32 
			 2003 3,678 924 1,553 747 420 34 
			 2004 3,457 848 1,574 702 309 24 
			 2005 3,618 948 1,689 692 269 20 
			 2006 3,411 863 1,637 658 239 14 
			 2007 3,534 915 1,753 626 223 17 
			 2008 3,522 981 1,760 575 193 13 
			 2009 2,938 865 1,485 421 158 9 
			 2010 2,304 668 1,193 335 96 12 
			 (1) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who were released from custody are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders that cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. Note: Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people within the secure youth estate received a sentence of (a) up to and including one month, (b) over one month but less than six months, (c) over six months but less than a year, (d) between one and two years, (e) between two and five years and (f) over five years in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: Table 1 shows the number of young people aged under 18 serving determinate sentences of (a) up to and including one month, (b) greater than one month but less than six months, (c) greater than or equal to six months but less than a year, (d) greater than or equal to one year but less than two years, (e) greater than or equal to two years but less than five years and (f) greater than or equal to five years as at the end of October for each of the last five years. This represents a snapshot of the population in the youth secure estate at the end of October in each year. It does not represent the total number of young people sentenced to custody within each year.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			  As at October each year 
			 Sentence length 2008 2009 2010 2011 (1) 2012 (1) 
			 (a) Up to and including one month 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (b) Greater than one month but less than six months 303 207 172 161 148 
			 (c) Greater than or equal to six months but less than a year 553 460 360 354 287 
			 (d) Greater than or equal to one year but less than two years 531 540 427 484 344 
			 (e) Greater than or equal to two years but less than five years 422 420 325 326 286 
			 (f) Greater than or equal to five years 56 62 65 48 53 
		
	
	Data for October 2011 and October 2012 are provisional. Finalised data for October 2011 will be finalised when the 2011-12 Annual Youth Justice Statistics are published in January 2013. Data for October 2012 will be finalised when the 2012-13 Annual Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2014. Data for October 2008 may not match published data due to different extraction times.
	Data from October 2008 to October 2011 were drawn from the Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS). Data for October 2012 were drawn from the Youth Justice Board's e-Asset system.
	These figures have been provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of registered carers in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for carrying out the census in England and Wales on the characteristics of the population, which includes data on the number of people who identify themselves as carers. Simultaneous but separate censuses occur in Scotland and Northern Ireland. These are run by the National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency respectively.
	Data from the 2011 Census for Scotland will not be available until March 2013, but the 2001 census showed 657,000 people identifying themselves as unpaid carers.
	On 11 December, ONS published regional data from the 2011 census for England and Wales. This showed that overall, 5.8 million (10%) residents in England and Wales provided unpaid care for someone with an illness or disability.

Disability Living Allowance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who receive disability living allowance will be assessed for eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP) by October 2015; and how many such people he estimates will receive (a) no payment, (b) a reduced payment, (c) the same payment and (d) an increased payment through PIP.

Esther McVey: The available information on the number of people who receive disability living allowance (DLA) who will be assessed for eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP) was published on 13 December 2012 in the Reassessments and Impacts briefing note. This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
	Table 2 shows the total number of DLA cases that will be reassessed for PIP by October 2015 and the likely outcomes for these reassessed cases.

Disability Living Allowance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who receive disability living allowance and have been assessed for the personal independence payment (PIP) will receive (a) no payment, (b) a reduced payment, (c) the same payment and (d) an increased payment through PIP.

Esther McVey: The available information on the number of people who receive disability living allowance (DLA) who will be assessed for eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP) was published on 13 December 2012 in the Reassessments and Impacts briefing note. This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
	Table 6 shows the total number of DLA cases that will be reassessed for PIP and the likely outcomes for these reassessed cases.

Disability Living Allowance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his projected cash savings from reforming disability living allowance are in each year from 2013 to 2018.

Esther McVey: The estimated savings resulting from reforming disability living allowance for each year from 2013-14 to 2017-18 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 DLA working/pension age expenditure without reform 12,630 13,200 13,760 
			 DLA/PIP working/pension age expenditure with reform 12,490 12,530 12,540 
			 Projected savings 140 670 1,210 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10 million. 
		
	
	Benefit expenditure forecasts have been taken from here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/budget_2012_211212.xls#'Table_1b'!A1
	Projected savings estimates for 2016-17 and 2017-18 are subject to further validation and will be updated when this is complete.

Disability Living Allowance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely (a) annual and (b) quarterly caseload for (i) disability living allowance and (ii) the personal independence payment in each year from 2013 to 2018.

Esther McVey: The available information on disability living allowance (DLA) and personal independence payment (PIP) caseloads are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Forecasts. These can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/budget_2012_211212.xls
	Table 1c provides information on forecast annual caseloads for DLA and PIP. Quarterly caseload forecasts are not available.

Emergencies

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his letter to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West of 30 November 2012, what steps he has taken to communicate procedures for staff with regard to emergencies on departmental premises.

Mark Hoban: Following the original PQ, a decision was taken to cascade a message via the Health and Safety Business Partners nationally. A written communication to Jobcentre managers will be issued within the next seven days.

European Social Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider the case for targeting the next European Social Fund seven year cycle on boosting employment among parents.

Mark Hoban: We will be developing proposals for the European Social Fund in England in 2014-20 alongside other EU “Common Strategic Framework” funds that can be used to promote growth and employment. As part of this process, we will ask local partners to consider how the European Social Fund could provide additional support to improve the employment and skills of people in their areas. This could include, for example, building on current European Social Fund provision to tackle barriers to work faced by individuals in troubled families, including parents.

Housing Benefit

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2012, Official Report, column 319W, on housing benefit: Wales, what meetings he has had on housing benefit reform; who attended such meetings; what was discussed; and what steps he took after each such meeting.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State has not met with Welsh Ministers to discuss housing benefit reform recently. However, Lord Freud has met with Ministers several times to discuss universal credit and housing reform.

Housing Benefit

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households that receive housing benefit have (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six children, (g) seven children and (h) eight or more children.

Steve Webb: This information has previously been requested and the answer has been published in Hansard at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121206/text/121206w0001.htm

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government about the application of the new burdens doctrine to the requirement that housing support should be paid direct to tenants instead of landlords.

Steve Webb: In line with the Government's new burdens doctrine, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government have agreed the process for assessing new administrative burdens on local authorities arising from our welfare reforms, including any that might arise from the extension of direct payment of housing support.
	Officials in the Department for Work and Pensions have been working closely with the new burdens team in DCLG and HMT to develop the assessments.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the application of the new burdens doctrine to the introduction of the social housing under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: In line with the Government's new burdens doctrine, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government have agreed the process for assessing new administrative burdens on local authorities arising from our welfare reforms, including any that might arise from the introduction of the social sector size criteria.
	Officials in the Department for Work and Pensions have been working closely with the new burdens team in DCLG and HMT to develop the assessments.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of housing benefit have moved from addresses in London to addresses outside London in each of the last 24 months.

Steve Webb: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For housing benefit recipients in the private rented sector affected by the changes to local housing allowance, the Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam university to undertake an independent review of the impact of the changes.
	The research will include a spatial analysis of the effects of the changes that will examine movement from one local authority to another.
	The Department published a report of early findings on 14 June 2012 and a copy of the report has been lodged in the House Library.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of the cap on housing benefit in each London borough in (a) April and (b) October 2013.

Steve Webb: Rates of local housing allowance (LHA) by property size entitlement are set for each Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA). LHA rates for 2013-14, and covering London, have been published at the following website address:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/RentOfficers/LHARates/april2013lha.html
	BRMAs do not fit neatly to local authority boundaries.

Personal Independence Payment

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals set out in the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 on deaf people, including those aged between 16 and 19;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of deaf people who will see their disability living allowance cut or removed when that benefit is replaced by the personal independence payment.

Esther McVey: The PIP assessment has been designed to focus on the impact that a health condition or impairment has on a person's ability to live an independent life, based on their own personal circumstances. As such it is not possible to model the likely impact that PIP will have on any particular group of people with specific impairments. We are, however, clear that priority in the benefit should go to those who face the greatest barriers to participating in society and we believe that the assessment for PIP will enable support to be focused on those who need it most.

Personal Independence Payment

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what consideration his Department gave to deaf people who will rely on lipreading with regards to assessing communication support to understand basic verbal information under the draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013;
	(2)  whether the definition of communication support includes formal communication support from family members under the draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013.

Esther McVey: In order to identify where individuals are likely to face the greatest barriers to participating in society, the PIP assessment looks at individuals’ ability to carry out a range of key everyday activities. It takes into account whether they need to use aids and appliances and if they require help from other people to carry out the activities. One of the activities assessed is whether people can communicate verbally with others. Points are awarded where people need aids and appliances to speak or hear; where they need communication support to express or understand verbal information; and where they cannot express or understand verbal information at all. This represents an improvement on the previous provisions; communication was not something that was previously considered under DLA.
	The definition of communication support used in the assessment is broad, encompassing individuals who are trained or experienced in helping individuals with specific communication needs. This includes people who are experienced in supporting the individual claimant, such as a family member or friend who can often play an important role in helping them to communicate.
	Individuals who are able to both reliably lipread and express information to others without the use of an aid or appliance or communication support are unlikely to score any points on the “Communicating verbally activity”. This reflects the likely additional costs and barriers faced by individuals who need this support. They may, however, score on other areas of the assessment depending on other needs they may have.

Personal Independence Payment

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of personal independence payments in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Esther McVey: Personal independence payment is being introduced from 8 April 2013. The levels which personal independence payment will be paid at on introduction were published in the regulations laid in draft in Parliament on 13 December 2012:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111532072/contents
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer has committed to raising the level of disability and carer benefits in line with inflation over the next two years.

Personal Independence Payment

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the savings which will accrue to the Exchequer as a consequence of having moved from disability living allowance to personal independence payments in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Esther McVey: Personal independence payment (PIP) will be introduced to replace disability living allowance (DLA) for 16 to 64-year-olds from April 2013. This means there will be no savings accruing to the Exchequer in 2012-13. The estimated savings figures from reforming DLA for 2013-14 and 2014-15 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2013-14 2014-15 
			 DLA working/pension age expenditure without reform 12,630 13,200 
			 DLA/PIP working/pension age expenditure with reform 12,490 12,530 
			 Projected savings 140 670 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10 million. 
		
	
	Benefit expenditure forecasts have been taken from here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/budget_2012_211212.xls#'Table_1b'IA1

Private Rented Housing: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average payment of housing benefit to private sector tenants in each London borough; and what the level of rent charged to the tenants paying occupation rent was since April 2012.

Steve Webb: The information on average payment of housing benefit to private rented sector tenants in each London borough is provided in the following table. Information on the rent charged to the tenants paying occupation rent is not available.
	
		
			 Average payment of housing benefit to private rented sector tenants, August 2012 
			  £ per week 
			 Camden 208.18 
			 City of London 224.43 
			 Hackney 201.83 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 195.67 
			 Haringey 162.48 
			 Islington 189.42 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 239.16 
			 Lambeth 155.70 
		
	
	
		
			 Lewisham 163.26 
			 Newham 163.50 
			 Southwark 153.05 
			 Tower Hamlets 209.34 
			 Wandsworth 205.04 
			 Westminster 275.63 
			 Barking and Dagenham 157.82 
			 Barnet 190.28 
			 Bexley 149.04 
			 Brent 206.48 
			 Bromley 145.22 
			 Croydon 155.59 
			 Ealing 188.31 
			 Enfield 190.21 
			 Greenwich 144.16 
			 Harrow 183.09 
			 Havering 149.30 
			 Hillingdon 161.76 
			 Hounslow 166.01 
			 Kingston upon Thames 181.46 
			 Merton 139.90 
			 Redbridge 161.33 
			 Richmond upon Thames 170.71 
			 Sutton 148.25 
			 Waltham Forest 150.71 
			 Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest pence. 3. Recipients are as at second Thursday of the month. 4. Age groups are based on the age on the count date (second Thursday in the month), of either: (a) the recipient if they are single, or (b) the elder of the recipient or partner if claiming as a couple. 5. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data are available monthly from November 2008, and August 2012 is the most recent available. Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE).

Remploy

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with trade union representatives on the Remploy factories which were announced for closure;
	(2)  what assistance the Government plans to give to people formerly employed at the Remploy factory in Sunderland to find alternative work.

Esther McVey: I have had contact with representatives from the Remploy trade unions in face-to-face meetings, stakeholder events and through correspondence. I have listened and responded to their views and opinions on the progress of the stage 1 process, as I have done with other stakeholders.
	The Government has made £8 million available to fund the delivery of a People Help and Support Package (PHSP) across the UK and support is available for individuals to access for up to 18 months following redundancy to help make the transition from working at Remploy to mainstream employment.
	All disabled Remploy staff affected by the changes, who give consent, will be guaranteed access to support from the PHSP. This includes individual help from a personal case worker, existing back-to-work support (including Access to Work) and access to a personal budget for acquiring additional support.

Remploy

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what types of jobs have been obtained by former Remploy workers; whether those jobs are full-time or otherwise; and at what level salaries are being paid.

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what types of jobs have been obtained by former Remploy workers; whether these jobs are full-time or otherwise; and at what level salaries are being paid.

Esther McVey: Out of around 1,100 people that our personal case workers are currently working with, 161 disabled people, over the past three months have already moved into work. These new jobs are with a variety of major retailers as well as small and medium sized enterprises operating across the retail, manufacturing and logistic sectors.
	These employees are working a range of hours to suit their individual needs and availability. However we do not collect information about salary levels.

Remploy

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will publish the names of all former Remploy managers who have been sold or been given any of Remploy's former assets;
	(2)  if he will place a list of any assets formerly owned by Remploy that have since been sold in the Library.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not held by the Department, and the hon. Member is advised that he should request this information from Remploy's Company Secretary. They can be contacted at:
	company.secretariat@Remploy.co.uk

Remploy: Edinburgh

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the former employees of the Edinburgh Remploy plant have found employment since the plant closed.

Esther McVey: I can confirm that two people have found employment and a further two people are due to start work in January. Three people have expressed an interest in retiring and 10 others have taken on work related activities.
	The Remploy People Help and Support Package (PHSP) is the Government's key process for delivering tailored support to those disabled people becoming redundant as a result of the announcement on the future of Remploy.
	Every affected disabled member of staff will be allocated a personal case worker (PCW) who will manage the future delivery of support to individuals.
	We have allocated £4 million for personal budgets, to make funding available for each disabled person affected by redundancy and to provide additional support where other sources of funding are unavailable.
	We have also set up a Community Support Fund to provide grants to local organisations to support the individuals affected by the Remploy factory closures.

Sick Leave

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of absence has been in his Department for stress-related sickness in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: Data on stress-related sickness absence is available within DWP from 2008.
	This shows that in each of the tax year 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, the proportion of working days lost specifically attributable to stress-related sickness absence was 0.3%.
	This consistently low figure reflects the efforts that the Department has made to support its employees at work during a period when they have been at the forefront of the Government’s response to the economic downturn.

Sick Leave

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department were given a (a) verbal warning and (b) written warning prior to a period of absence for sickness in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions do not issue warnings to employees prior to them taking sickness absence as the hon. Member's question requests.
	Warnings are only issued when employees have been absent due to sickness for eight days or more in any 12-month period—this is the earliest point at which our formal absence management policy starts. The outcome of this formal action is not predetermined and there may be a number of outcomes ranging from provision of various forms of help or work place adjustment or advice from our Occupational Health Service, through to the issuing of a formal improvement warning, as appropriate.
	The following tables give the number of oral or written warnings that have been issued to employees from January 2008 to the end of November 2012 due to unsatisfactory attendance.
	
		
			  Total Percentage of staff issued with a warning 
			 2008   
			 Oral warning 6,424 5.6 
			 Written warning 2,060 1.8 
			    
			 2009   
			 Oral warning 6,208 5.8 
			 Written warning 2,408 2.3 
			    
			 2010   
			 Oral warning 8,058 6.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Written warning 2,303 1.9 
			    
			 2011   
			 Oral warning 6,602 6.0 
			 Written warning 1,920 1.8 
			    
			 2012 (from 1 January to 30 November)   
			 Oral warning 4,368 4.4 
			 Written warning 1,218 1.2

Social Rented Housing: Armed Forces

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give consideration to the exempting of armed forces personnel and their families from the Government's proposed social housing under-occupation measure.

Steve Webb: We considered a number of exemptions during formulation of the under-occupation policy but concluded that specific exemptions for different groups can be an inefficient and a complex way of targeting resources. That is why we think discretionary housing payments offer a better solution as local decision makers are best placed to make decisions on individual circumstances.

Social Rented Housing: Armed Forces

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's proposed social housing under-occupation measure on families with one or more unoccupied bedrooms retained for armed forces personnel serving overseas at their place of residence in the UK.

Steve Webb: We do not hold information that would identify such cases and so no assessment has been made of the effect of the under-occupation measure on serving armed forces personnel.

Social Rented Housing: North East

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) North West Durham constituency that will be affected by the new rules on under-occupancy in social housing.

Steve Webb: Impacts of the new rules on under-occupancy in social housing are not available at local authority or parliamentary constituency level.
	Impacts of the under-occupancy measure at a regional level can be found in the Impact Assessment:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value has been of (a) unemployment benefit and jobseeker's allowance, (b) child benefit and (c) incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance as a proportion of average earnings in each year since 1982.

Mark Hoban: The information requested for unemployment benefit, jobseeker's allowance, child benefit, incapacity benefit and employment support allowance recipients is available from “The Annual Abstract of Statistics for Benefits, National Insurance Contributions, and Indices of Prices and Earnings” can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/abstract/abstract2011.pdf

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse in each of the next three years of uprating benefits in line with his proposal for a one per cent cap.

Steve Webb: The cost of uprating benefits administered by my Department and subject to 1% uprating over the next three years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2013-14 180 
			 2014-15 410 
			 2015-16 700 
			 Notes: 1. Great Britain benefits only. Spending in Northern Ireland is not included. 2. All costs, including from universal credit, are consistent with the Autumn Statement 2012 forecast. 3. Benefits affected include: the main rates of income support, jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance and housing benefit; the corresponding elements of universal credit; the work-related activity group component of employment and support allowance; maternity allowance, statutory maternity pay, statutory sick pay. 4. Effects in the second and third years are cumulative. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely effect on measured levels of (a) absolute and (b) relative poverty of the uprating of benefits by 1 per cent for each of the next three years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of children who will be below the 60 per cent relative poverty threshold in each year to 2020 (a) without and (b) with the 1 per cent benefit uprating in the next three years.

Steve Webb: holding answer 13 December 2012
	Assessments of impacts will accompany the uprating order for 2013 and the forthcoming Uprating Bill.

Television: Licensing

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of the free television licence for people aged over 75 there were in each year between 1997 and 2012.

Steve Webb: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables are published and can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
	Table 1c of the medium-term forecast for all DWP benefits includes caseload information for Over 75 TV licences.
	Figures for Over 75 TV licences include Northern Ireland and are therefore United Kingdom figures.

Unemployment

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households that are economically inactive have (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six children, (g) seven children and (h) eight or more children.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many households that are economically inactive have (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six children, (g) seven children and (h) eight or more children (134605).
	Estimates are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of those households that are economically inactive and the number of dependent children living in these households. The latest estimates, which are for the three month period April to June 2012, can be found in the table. It has been estimated, for example, that there were 271,000 economically inactive households with one dependent child with at least one person aged 16 to 64 living in the household.
	It is not possible to provide reliable estimates of the number of economically inactive households with five or more dependent children due to small sample sizes. Therefore estimates are provided for economically inactive households with four or more dependent children.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 Economically inactive households (1)  with dependent children (2) , by number of dependent children, April to June 2012, United Kingdom 
			 Thousand 
			  Number of dependent children 
			  1 child 2 children 3 children 4 or more children 
			 Inactive households 271 212 102 56 
			 (1) An inactive household is a household that includes at least one person aged 16 to 64 and everyone aged 16 or over is inactive. (2) Dependent children are children under 16 and those aged 16 to 18 who are never-married and in full-time education. Source: Labour Force Survey household datasets

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the case for a higher universal credit income disregard for (a) lone parents and (b) parents in couples who are both in work.

Mark Hoban: The December 2012 impact assessment
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/universal-credit-wr2011-ia.pdf
	shows that the universal credit work allowances set out in our draft regulations will significantly improve on the current benefit system, providing lone parents and couple parents with meaningful and improved financial incentives to take up work.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the case for a larger universal credit disregard in London to take into account higher living and childcare costs in London.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit will only be effective if people understand the financial rewards of finding a job and increasing their hours of work. A fundamental part of this is the simple structure of work allowances.
	Regional variations to these allowances would introduce unnecessary complexity, undermining one of the key objectives of the reforms.

Vocational Guidance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobcentres host regular sessions with advisers from the National Careers Service.

Mark Hoban: The number of Jobcentres hosting regular sessions with advisers from National Careers service is 552.

Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of the winter fuel allowance there were in each income decile in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse was of the allowance for each such decile.

Steve Webb: The requested information is available in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of individuals in receipt of winter fuel payment and total amount received by income decile (whole population), Before and After Housing Costs, United Kingdom, 2010-11 
			  Decile 
			  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
			 Before Housing Costs           
			 Number (million) 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.9 
			 Total WFP expenditure (£ million) 300 350 350 350 300 300 250 200 200 150 
			            
			 After Housing Costs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
			 Number (million) 0.7 1.0 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.2 
			 Total WFP expenditure (£ million) 150 200 350 350 300 300 300 250 250 200 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost and an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 6. Numbers of individuals have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand individuals. 7. Amounts are presented in 2010-11 prices and have been rounded to the nearest 50 million pounds. 8. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 9. Overall expenditure by decile was produced by applying the proportion in each decile from HBAI to overall WFP expenditure for 2010-11. 10. Expenditure figures do not sum to total published 2010-11 expenditure due to rounding. Source: Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2010/11, End of year Local Authority subsidy returns and DWP statistical data.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's response to Professor Harrington's Second Independent Review of the work capability assessment, published in November 2011, what progress he has made on developing a gold standard review of the new work capability assessment mental health descriptors.

Mark Hoban: The Evidence Based Review (EBR) remains a priority for the Department and work is continuing at pace. The final report is due in 2013.
	Professor Harrington commissioned two groups of charities to provide recommendations to refine descriptors respectively for (a) mental, cognitive and intellectual functioning and (b) fluctuating conditions in 2011. Each group reported recommendations for changes to the descriptors to Professor Harrington, while recognising that more work would be needed to finalise the proposals.
	We have undertaken extensive work with these charities throughout the summer to ensure that the 'alternative' WCA assessment combines recommendations from both the mental functioning and fluctuating conditions groups, and that the descriptors are suitable for testing. The final version of the 'alternative' assessment was signed off by the charities at the end of August 2012.
	Since then, work has progressed in a number of different areas, including the training necessary for the healthcare professionals conducting the alternative assessments; further work with the charities concerning the practicalities of the test, and the evaluation strategy. We also have a Steering Group in place, chaired by Professor Harrington, to oversee the review.